I Wish Upon a Star
by Vivian Caidin
Summary: A continuation of Its about Trust and the rest of the series. The group has to learn to work together while another crisis is on the rise. And the additional family member either has to help or get out of the way. AN: Chapters corrected
1. Prologue

TITLE: I Wish upon a Star

DISCLAIMER: Joss Whedon owns Buffy, James Cameron owns Dark Angel, Davis Panzer/Gregory Widen owns Highlander, other crossovers to come.

PAIRING: Xander/Cordelia, Willow/Oz

RATING: M and Heavy R for violent content, language and nudity.

SPOILERS: Dark Angel is set at the end of season 2. Buffy is set during the season 3 episode The Wish. Highlander is set after the Series, during Endgame.

Summary: A continuation of Its about Trust and the rest of the series. The group has to learn to work together while another crisis is on the rise. And additional family member either has to help or get out of the way.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is based on Challenge 1405: Not so broken world submitted by Ladeia, Challenge 400: Immortal Revelation by Teri on Twisting the Hellmouth.

Prologue

…Under a Violet Moon…

Buffy and Faith had decided to patrol together and give the rest of the gang the night off for once. Xander and Cordelia would take patrols around the next night to give the Slayers a turn to have the night off.

Xander had Jonathon and Oz over at his house and the guys were bonding. The transgenic could easily picture Jonathon as Sky and Oz as a distant Joshua. The werewolf got furry once a month, so the young man could vaguely draw a slim to nonexistent parallel.

Adam had gone to Europe this week and should not be back for a few weeks.

Amy and Willow were studying together that night. It was a good thing when the young witches could bond, even though it might be over studying.

Giles studied a manuscript late at the library, translating some ancient text a contact had sent to him.

...The Swamps of Home…

Cordelia sat alone at a table in Willie's Alibi Room, nursing a corona.

Cordelia Chase sat at the table drinking her second corona of the evening and thinking of the past. Her purse, a Prada bag that had been a birthday present from her father, sat on the table in front of her. She really did not need such an expensive gift, and could probably fence it for a lot of cash. She was sorely tempted to do that.

She sighed heavily and frowned as she thought of Logan Cale. Xander was right; it never would have worked with the ordinary no matter how much she would have liked to be normal.

She thought of her brothers and sisters: Jondy, Krit, Syl… She thought of Zack's amnesiac generated psychosis. She wished that he could be normal again, well, what constituted normal for a genetically created super soldier.

She gave a sad smile as she thought of Joshua, Mole, Luke and Dix. Big Fella had been a silver lining in the dingy, dirty underbelly of Seattle's mean streets. While the others had almost been a comedic relief that kept laughter in the dark places.

She frowned as she thought of Biggs and Ce Ce. She thought both were killed too early in life.

She thought about her best friend OC. Original Cindy had been her first friend when she moved to Seattle. They had been through some tough times but had stuck together through it all.

She even spared a thought for Colonel Donald Lydecker, though fleeting that thought was.

She missed her friends and family…

"Nice bag," a young woman said as she moved to stand in front of Cordelia's table, "Prada?"

The transgenic scoffed as she said, "Yeah, sure is."

"Do you mind if I sit?" the young woman asked airily.

"Sure, no problem," the brunette said as she took another pull from her bottle of beer.

The blonde sat down and smiled in a fake, happy manner.

"I'm new in town and I just wondered if there was any happening places around here," the blonde said with a perky smile.

"The Bronze is a nice place for young people to go," the transgenic said distractedly as she frowned and looked over at the bar.

"Is it about a man?"

"What?" Cordelia snapped her attention on the young woman who sat in front of her.

"Usually when someone has a face like that its either men or money."

The X5 frowned at her as she really got a good look at the young woman, "It's neither." She pointed to the necklace the blonde wore, "Is that Mignon Faget?"

The blonde fingered the pendant and smiled, "No, it's actually something my dad gave me, very old, very delicate."

'Very expensive,' Cordelia thought as she nodded and smiled. 'Too bad I don't steal from ordinaries anymore.'

"So if you had a way to get it all back, what would you wish?"

"Excuse me?" the transgenic asked, head cocked to the side.

"I mean…" the blonde sounded too perky, "Don't you just wish…"

Cordelia frowned and looked down at the table, "You know what I wish…"


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

…Everybody's Pickin' up on That Feline Beat…

The patrol had found their way to Greenleaf Cemetery.

They found a pair of Mishawka demons fighting over a box of kittens.

Cordelia had tried to help them keep the peace and asked if they would not mind splitting the share down the middle.

The demons had wanted to literally split the kittens in half, but Amy had talked them out of it.

They had just split the cute little bundles of fluff up nearly evenly into two boxes when there was one left, a little female calico.

The pair began to argue once more on who would get the final kitten.

Cordelia had finally stopped the fight one last time and said that the Scoobies were taking the kitten and that if they did not like it, they could take it up with the Slayers tomorrow night.

After the mention of the Slayers, the demons had left in a very speedy manner, each carrying a box of their own mewling kittens.

Unseen by the group, a figure in a black leather outfit nearly invisible in the darkness stood watching them from the sidelines.

The small hunter group, consisting of Cordelia Chase, Amy Madison and Daniel Osborne, headed toward the standard rendezvous point at Mulholland Park.

"So what do you think they wanted the kittens for?" Amy asked as she stroked the calico's soft fur with her chin.

"Maybe they use them to bet when they play poker," Oz said thoughtfully as he walked along with his friends.

"Oh, ew," Cordy frowned in disgust, "I so don't want to think about demons using cats as anti."

"That's just wrong," Amy said as she tried to wrap her head around that idea.

"HG2, come in," the trio heard through the sub-vocal communicators in their ears.

"Yeah," the transgenic said as she tapped her own ear.

"We need you at Number 9," came Jonathon's hasty reply.

"Well, I guess there's no rest for the weary," Cordelia said as the hunters headed to the cemetery none the wiser that they were being followed.

…Idle Hands…

The group ran toward the cemetery where they knew the first hunter group was patrolling.

Cordelia, being faster than the others, ran ahead.

As they reached the clearing in the center of the cemetery, Amy and Oz skidded to a halt in stunned silence.

Xander and the others were covered in a multitude of severed hands, climbing, scratching and clambering blindly for purchase on their clothes.

Willow and Jonathon held large, magically created hammers and were pounding hands into the ground if any came close to them.

Cordelia rushed forward to pull hands off of her boyfriend, but when she threw them away from her in disgust, they would either head back to Xander or begin to climb up her own clothes.

Crawling Claws were never fun at parties no matter who said they were.

So that the small kitten would not get hurt, Amy placed it in a deep pocket in the flowing skirt she wore.

Then, transfiguring a baseball bat from a string from her loose fitting skirt, Amy handed it to the werewolf. She then conjured another one for herself.

"Batter up?" the brunette witch called to the others.

Cordelia Chase laughed as she pulled one of the tricky little buggers off of her clothes and tossed it over to the pair.

Oz smirked as he swung his bat and the undead hand sailed through the air and splattered against the side of a tombstone.

The others worked together to pull every last one of the creepy little hands off the transgenics and sent them over for handball.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

…411 on the DL…

Early the next morning found a new student seated in Principal Snyder's office.

The troll had a file laid out flat on top of his desk as he eyed the young man in front of him with a deep frown on his Ferengi face.

"Smith, Sam; Senior; late of Heritage Christian High School in Gillette, Wyoming. Interesting record, quite a career..." he said as he ran his tongue over his teeth and barely held back a glare as he looked at the young man.

"Welcome to Sunnydale High School," he said as he rose from his seat and proceeded to shake the young man's hand.

"Thanks, Principal Snyder," the blond said as he rose from his seat to tower over the short man and followed him out of the office.

Looking around the administrative office, Snyder noticed a familiar red head as she was walking hurriedly passed the double doors out in the hall.

"Rosenburg!" he bellowed.

The short red head entered the administration office with a frown on her pixie face, "Yes, Mr. Synder?"

"Show this future juvenile delinquent around," he said as he slammed back into his office.

Willow rolled her eyes as she looked up, and up at the guy; he was at least three inches taller than Xander.

"I'm Willow," she said with a friendly smile as she headed down the hall, "Sorry about Snyder."

"Sam, and don't worry about it," he said with a smile of his own, but to the witch it looked fake.

"Do you have your schedule?" she asked as she raised one of her hands toward him, expectantly.

He looked down at her, then looked at her hand, "Oh, here," he handed it over.

She gave a quick, speed reading glance then handed it back to him.

"Okay," she headed down the hall with the young man at her heels.

They reached the main corridor and willow pointed in one direction, "That way is the gym and the pool, through that way…" she pointed in another direction, "is the cafeteria."

"Great," he said as he looked both ways as though carefully cataloging the information.

She showed him his locker then showed him each individual class room.

He scratched his head and asked in confusion, "Don't you think it would have been easier if you'd have given me a map?"

Willow smiled as she said, "This way, you're less likely to skip classes."

She ended the tour at their final destination, "This is your classroom." She checked her watch and noticed there were a few more minutes before Homeroom.

"If you're not too busy playing catch up, feel free to stop at the Bronze tonight," she invited.

"The what?" he asked as he shook his head.

"The Bronze, it's the only club that allows teens," she said by way of explanation.

"Okay, where is that?" Sam asked with a smirk.

"It's at the north end of town, two blocks from Main Street," Willow said in that perky way she had about her. "You can't miss it… cause… there's not a lot of town."

"I'll try to make it," he said with a nod. "Thanks," he said and headed into the classroom.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

…Humans Being…

At the Bronze, Buffy, Willow and Oz sat at one table, while Amy, Jonathon and Faith had pulled another table over and sat at it. Xander and Cordelia stood together in front of the pair of tables, dancing… more like the young man had his hands on her butt and they were swaying back and forth.

"So, I invited him to come to the Bronze tonight," Willow spoke about the new student she had met that morning.

"So he's not demony, magicky or vampirey?" Buffy asked as she bit on the straw from her soda.

"Not that I can tell," she said with a perky smile.

"He sounds cool," Oz said quietly from his seat at the red head's side.

"Maybe he's a tiger in the sack," Faith said with a lustful smile on her face.

"Eew," Amy said as she turned a disgusted look on the brunette Slayer.

The young woman just shrugged and smirked, "It's all part of the Slayer package. Slaying makes you hungry, horny or both."

Jonathon frowned as he hunkered down over his drink.

Xander spun his date around so he could spare a glance at the Slayer. "Hey," he smirked, "Slayin' makes me horny… Ouch!"

Cordelia stepped back from him after she smacked him in the arm. "I'm standing right here; can you be any more of a pig?"

He looked down at her and smiled, "Hey, you're the only one who reaps the benefits."

"You'd better watch that smart aleck mouth of yours or there'll be no reaping of the benefits for the foreseeable future."

Xander gave her a cat that ate the cream smile as he said in a very low tone, "You know you love it when I talk dirty."

Willow rolled her eyes at their exchange then turned to Oz with a rueful smile.

Oz looked over at his girlfriend and smirked a bit.

The werewolf and the witch leaned toward each other and touched their foreheads together.

"Oh, don't make me vomit," Jonathon said with a frown as he looked at both couples. 'Why can't I find someone nice,' he wondered silently to himself.

"I know exactly what you mean, little man," Faith said with a smirk as she noticed the expression on his face.

"Don't call me that," he said as he drank some more of his soda.

Faith smiled widely as she knew she had easily gotten to him.

Buffy sighed heavily as she looked around the bar. Her hopes were dying quickly that she might see Angel in the club tonight.

"Hey," the blonde said as she rose from her seat and grabbed the empty soda pitcher from the table, "I'll get the next round."

She walked away from the table.

Cordelia, Willow and Faith followed the blonde Slayer with their eyes as she moved to the bar.

Xander and Cordelia finally sat down after the song had stopped playing.

"I think she's looking for Overbite more than anything else," Xander said as he finished his own soda.

Cordy elbowed him in the side, "That's not very nice."

"Hey," the X5 groused, "I call 'em like I see 'em."

Amy frowned as she contributed, "I think he's thinking about leaving town."

Everyone looked at her.

"How would you know that?" Willow demanded in surprise, eyebrows raised.

The young Wiccan shrugged as she continued, "I don't know…" she contemplated thoughtfully, "I just have a feeling."

Cordelia and Oz looked curiously at the young witch. They both knew Amy's 'feelings' meant something.

"Don't fret too much, Amy," Cordy said as she patted the girl's arm where it rested on the table.

Xander looked at his girlfriend with a questioning light in his eye.

The brunette silently told him that she would tell him later.

...Get up and Go...

As Buffy headed back to the table, she accidentally bumped into a tall blond teenager.

"I'm sorry," the blonde said as she looked up at him and blinked.

He looked down and gave a smile that did not reach his eyes, "Don't worry about it."

She recognized him as the new student, 'Ham? Cam? Pam? Something with an am.' "Hey, aren't you from my Lit class?" Buffy asked as she looked him up and down then her gaze rested on his face.

"Yeah," he said as his smile warmed.

"I'm Buffy," she said perkily.

"Buffy?" he repeated as he cataloged her name for future use.

She rolled her eyes, "Hey, it's better than Elizabeth."

"I'm Sam," he supplied.

"Sam…" she trailed off thoughtfully, and then snapped her attention back to him in realization, "Willow said you might stop by… come on, we're all at the tables."

As the young man followed her, Buffy never noticed the ensouled vampire in a darkened corner. Angel frowned as he left the Bronze.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

…It Has Begun…

In the foothills surrounding Sunnydale, California, in the limestone rock was a cavernous pocket called Bronson Caves nestled between the town and Los Angeles.

Inside a cold, deadened cavern, a large altar had been constructed long time ago. A large, Parthenonesque obsidian statue of Kali, the Bitch Goddess of Death and Destruction stood in a menacing posture. She had four arms; in her upper right hand she held aloft a sword, in her lower right hand the head of the demon she had slain, the body of which was at her feet.

With her upper left hand, she encouraged her worshipers to do her bidding. With her lower left hand in a come hither gesture, she bid new followers to venerate at her feet.

For earrings she had two actual dead human bodies hanging by nooses and wore a necklace of actual human skulls.

Her only clothing was a girdle made of bloodied men's forearms, and her tongue protruded from her mouth in a threatening manner. Her eyes were demonic, glowing red, and her face and breasts were smeared with blood from sacrifices.

Along both sides of the cavernous hall, wall torches illuminated burning bodies being cremated in Her homage while on the walkways high above the ground floor, worshipers lay prostrate singing their hypnotic chant.

In eight days, the planets would be aligned and it would be the perfect time for the ritual.

"Aum..." was the resonating, continuous, humming sound that reverberated throughout the cavern.

A scarlet enshrouded monk with blue tattoos covering his face walked into the cavernous hall from a large set of double doors and moved to the base of the altar. Clapping his hands together in supplicating prayer, he lifted his hands toward the heavens brought them to his nose, turned them toward the ground and followed through to a complete kowtow to lay prostrate at his divine goddess' feet. "Shah… Kali… Mah..." he prayed and remained in the prone position for a long moment before he rose gracefully to his feet.

He noticed two acolytes preparing the altar with sacrificial ashes and fresh blood. He looked along the walls, nude males and females were chained and staked to the walls, struggling, screaming, bleeding and suffering all in the name of his goddess.

Thinking on the sacrifice to come, the Grand Master smiled in wretched delight. 'She will be the perfect sacrifice,' he thought to himself as he stroked his beard. 'I will be happy to perform this ritual for the Goddess,' he thought to himself as he smiled revealing that his two front teeth were missing, this showed his status among the disciples as highest among them.

"{How much longer until the altar is ready?}" he asked in his native Hindu tongue.

"{Not long now, Grand Master,}" one of the acolytes spoke in quiet, respectful tones as he responded, head bowed, completely submissive.

"{Good work to you both,}" he complemented with a nod, "Jai Kali Mah."

Both apprentices responded, "Jai Kali Mah." They remained bent at the waist until he left, then continued with their preparations.

…Blast from the Past…

Xander and Cordelia were lip locked when Buffy reached the table followed by the really tall blond.

Willow frowned disapprovingly as she tried to get them to stop.

Faith was smiling as she enjoyed the show.

Jonathon and Amy watched the public display in stunned interest.

In typical unflappable fashion, Oz totally ignored the goings on.

The blond gave a frown of disgust as he looked at the couple, thinking they were rather rude.

Turning away in disgust, the red head looked to the bar to see if Buffy was headed back yet.

"Oh, you made it," Willow said with a perky smile as she recognized the young man from that morning as he followed the blonde Slayer.

He smiled and nodded at her in greeting.

The blonde Slayer placed the pitcher of coca cola on the table and said, "Pull up a seat, just ignore the couple…" the next part was said extremely loud in Xander and Cordy's ear as she moved in as close as she was willing to get, "Macking in public!"

The transgenics pulled apart and looked at Buffy in surprise.

The young man pulled a chair over from another table and both Cordelia and Xander stopped to give the blond a wide-eyed stare and glare respectively.

The blond looked at both of them, did not recognize the dark haired young man, but certainly recognized the young woman with him.

All three looked at one another in wonder.

"Max!" the blond exclaimed as he looked at Cordelia curiously.

"Zack!" she questioned as she looked at him with a frown. She remembered what happened last time they had met.

Xander frowned as he looked at the big, blond transgenic. He also remembered what happened when he had met the enhanced X5. "Zack," he frowned, hackles rising.

The others at the table looked curiously at all three transgenics.

"Okay," Buffy said loudly, clearly in Slayer mode, clearly a threat in her voice. "What the hell is going on?"

"Perhaps we should move this to the Library," Oz said quietly.

"Perhaps we should," Xander agreed darkly.

Author's Note: All things in hindi, or about Kali, are not meant to offend anyone of that nationality or of that religion. If content is incorrect, please message me and I'll correct it in the story.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

…Trustin'…

The young people headed to the Library of Sunnydale High School.

Sam Smith, who was in fact Zack, X5-599, had been surprised when Xander Harris pulled a key chain from the clip on his belt loop and unlocked the double doors to the rear entrance.

The hunter groups lead the way, the blonde X5 in the middle with Faith and Oz pulling up the rear to provide backup in the event that their "captive" turned out to be hostile.

As the group entered the Library, they noticed Rupert Giles, Watcher and Immortal, seated at their favorite table. He had a pile of books on the table and was in the process of dropping the one in his hand on top of the stack growing larger at his feet.

Head quirked to the side, one hand on her hip, the brunette Slayer smiled fondly as she asked, "Strange things afoot on the Hellmouth, G?"

Giles frowned as he looked up at the large group of young people in distraction. "What are you all doing here? I thought you called it a night earlier this evening," he eyed the stranger curiously.

Buffy smiled as she put a hand on her own hip, "We were coming here for a private place to talk. It was either here or your apartment, and since I figured you were burning the midnight oil, we came here."

"And I thought Willow had the patent on babble speech," Xander said with a smirk as he looked at his friend.

A few people snickered at the comment.

"I am thrilled," the Watcher said drolly, "that you would include me in your teenage angst."

"Well," Cordy said with a smile as she moved over and sat next to him, "You're like… the father of us all." She hugged his arm.

"Does that make Buffy's mom our mom?" Willow piped up from her spot next to Oz.

"Hey, G-man," Xander smirked, "You gotta get with the Buffmeister's mom again so we can all have a mom."

"Eew, Xander," Buffy's face scrunched up at the image his words produced.

Giles sighed tiredly as he removed his glasses and cleaned them. "Xander, please," the Immortal frowned.

"Don't think so," the young man responded as he sat next to his girlfriend.

The others filed in around the table.

Buffy sat on the other side of Giles and gave his other arm the same attention Cordelia had given.

Then Willow sat next to the blonde Slayer with Oz next to her.

Jonathon sat next to Xander with Amy on the other side of him.

Faith wedged her way in between the two young men and sat on the table.

"I take it, they know everything?" Zack asked as he eyed Max as he sat down in the remaining chair.

The brunette looked at him for a long moment before she responded, "Yep, everyone knows the dealio."

"Yeah, some more than others," Xander said as he turned his head and shoved the collar of his shirt down to reveal the barcode at the back of his neck.

"What the heck is going on? Who the heck is X5-494?" Zack asked in a confused tone as he turned back to the transgenic he thought of as Max. "I've been trying to call the others for days and I get nothing. I even tried to call you, but your cell phone is out of order. And why are we in Sunnydale, California? Wherever THAT is! I've never even heard of this town and I find myself here."

"Perhaps," Giles said with authority, "everyone should introduce themselves before we get started. Then, maybe we can figure out what's going on while stopping the apocalypse that is about to occur."

"Apocalypse?" a few of the Scoobies questioned as they turned concerned eyes on the Librarian.

"Apocalypse?" Zack echoed curiously.

…My Name Is… What?...

"I'm actually Cordelia Chase," the young woman said as she looked over at him from across the table. "I wore a costume on Halloween last year and turned into Max Guevara for one night. The next day…" she sighed sadly before she continued and frowned, "…everything stayed… but I am Cordelia Chase, high school student… with a little something extra thrown in for good measure."

"I'm Xander Harris," the black haired young man said with a smirk, "I turned into Alec MacDowell that same night… oh, don't know why you don't recognized my designation, but you'll recognize my twin's. He rattled off the number so fast that most could not catch all the numbers, "X5-331845739493."

"Ben…" Zack whispered as he looked at the dark haired young man across the table from him.

At Xander's nod, the blonde X5's eyes narrowed, "I don't remember any 494…"

Xander cut him off, "I don't think you would. I was never at the Gillette base; I was at the Seattle base."

Zack frowned as he noticed Max, er Cordelia, place her hand on the other X's arm.

"Hey, lover boy," Faith said to gain the big blonde's attention. When he turned his blue eyes on her, she spoke, "I'm Faith, the Vampire Slayer."

"The what?" the big transgenic said as he looked at her in curiosity.

She smirked in a predatory manner, "Vampire Slayer." She smiled in pleasure, "I slay vampires, demons, evil beasties hell bent on bringing hell on earth."

"Faith, that's enough," Giles said, "He'll learn soon enough."

"Alright, G," she shrugged as she turned away from the table in that bored way she had.

"I'm Jonathon," the young man next to her said. "I help."

"Come on," Cordy said, "You do more than that…"

"Yeah," Amy agreed, "You're the best of us besides Giles with a crossbow. And I've seen you throw a mean fireball a time or two."

The short young man smiled as he ducked his head, "Yeah, you're right."

"Don't sell yourself short, my man," Xander offered his support as he clapped a hand on the smaller young man's shoulder.

Cordelia smiled fondly at Xander and Zack did not like that.

"I'm Amy," the wicca said with a wave, "Wicca."

"Wicca?" the blonde shook his head, unfamiliar with the term.

"Witch," she confirmed with a small, half smile.

Xander noticed Big Brother's placating nod, knew the other transgenic did not even know what a witch was.

"I'm Oz," the now blue haired musician said from the chair on the other side of Zack. "Werewolf."

Willow smiled at her boyfriend, then turned to the new student and said, "We met early this morning, remember?"

"Willow," he said with a nod.

"I'm a witch too," she smiled brightly, "Oh… but not Wicca."

"And I'm Buffy," she gave a springy bob of her head, "The Vampire Slayer."

"You allow this madness to go on?" Zack said as he turned a stern gaze on the one adult in the room.

"I'm Rupert Giles," the older man said as he cleaned his glasses once more. "I am this school's Librarian… I am also Buffy's, and by that extension, Faith's Watcher."

"Right," the transgenic said, disbelieving, "you're all crazy." He turned back to the only familiar face in the room and demanded, "Max, what the hell is really going on?"


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

…If I Gave You the Truth, Would It Keep You Alive?…

"Tell me the truth, Max," Zack said in a hard tone of voice as he looked at her.

Taking a deep breath, Cordelia frowned as she looked at him, her brown eyes luminous, "All of it's true: Buffy is a Slayer. Oz is a lycanthrope. And Sunnydale is where the monsters live."

He shook his head, but her body language told him that she was telling the truth.

"Are you hardwired?" Xander asked as he canted his head and looked at the big blonde curiously.

"Am I what?" Zack frowned when he looked at the other X5.

"Are you hardwired?" he repeated the question. At the other's confused look, he elaborated, "Last time we met, you had this…" he waved his hand to indicate the left side of his face, "…thing, happening."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the blonde looked at him like he was crazy then turned to Cordelia, "Is he sane?"

She looked at the dark haired young man before she turned to her big brother, "Yes, he's sane… the last time I saw you, you were…" she frowned as she trailed off, she did not want to think of what had happened to Zack.

The blond did not like it when the other transgenic put his arm around Max's shoulders, but remained silent.

Zack sighed, "The last time I saw you, you were surrounded by Lydecker's men in that place we were trying to rescue Tinga. I was headed to Logan's when somehow I ended up here. Then, the other night, I'm wandering around and I see you with a group of people fighting off what looked like hands."

"That was you?" Xander exclaimed as he snapped a glare at the other transgenic. "I knew I felt something out there… watching. I had my hands full, so I couldn't investigate."

"At least it was him and not someone like Spike," Jonathon said with a roll of his eyes.

"Or Drusilla," Oz said quietly.

"Or Angel," Xander was not afraid to say it.

"Hey, stop harping on Angel," Buffy said as she frowned at Xander.

"If it's the truth," Xander said with a shrug.

"Don't egg her on," Cordy rolled her eyes as she said in an aside to her boyfriend.

"All I'm doing is stating the obvious," he said with a wide handed shrug.

"Well, you don't have to get on his case especially if he's not here to defend himself," the blonde Slayer defended.

"And where is lover boy, by the way?" Xander asked as he glared at her.

"We're not like that!" Buffy exclaimed, exasperated.

"Can we get back to the point here, children?" Giles shouted in consternation as he furiously cleaned his glasses.

Zack noticed that the group quieted instantly when the older guy issued the command. It said a lot for Max that she was able to listen to an authority figure and do what he said.

"Anyway," Cordelia said as she took up from where they had left off, "the last time I saw you." Her shoulders slumped in sadness as she continued, "You had been messed up pretty bad by Manticore. They did something to you…"

"What did they do?" he demanded in a hard tone.

"They brainwashed you, okay dude," Xander helped. "They put you through…" he shuddered "…reindoc…"

"No," Zack denied as he cut off the other transgenic, "what the hell's reindoc?"

"Reindoctrination," Cordelia defined with a frown, "it's not a good experience."

"No it's certainly not," Xander confirmed with a deep frown and a dark look in his eyes.

"You've both gone through this," Zack stated, it was not a question.

"Yep," Xander confirmed, "Six months when you all went AWOL. Then again when Brother Benny went psycho. And again, when…" he trailed off and would not finish his statement.

Cordy nodded, "I went through six months when I was captured after we destroyed the DNA lab in Gillette… I was moved to the Seattle base and had it under Renfro."

"Let's not relive painful memories, because then I'd have you all beat," Giles said as he rested a calming hand on Cordelia's shoulder.

"Thanks, Giles," she said quietly to him as she leaned into his side.

"You're alright, Cordelia," he confirmed to his pseudo daughter. "You are as well, Xander."

"Thanks, G-man," Xander said as he rose from the table and walked away to clear his head.

...Pustaka se Kali...

"So, what's this about an Apocalypse?" Buffy said as she changed the subject.

Giles adjusted his glasses then looked around the table at the young people. He glared silently at Zack for a long, intimidating moment.

The transgenic understood the look to mean, 'Hurt my children and I will find any means necessary to hurt you.' He nodded imperceptibly to the older man in understanding.

Giles began his explanation, "I found a text called the Pustaka se Kali."

"The Book of Kali?" Xander exclaimed as he moved back to the table though he did not sit.

"What do you know about it, Xander?"

"Nothing," he shrugged, "I just happen to speak Hindi."

Giles sighed and continued, "As Xander said, the Pustaka se Kali is the Book of Kali. Kali is the Hindu Goddess of Death and Destruction. "She is one of the most popular deities in the Hindu pantheon. Kali represents the dark aspects of the cosmos. Her naked form," he said as he flipped the book open to her image, "is associated with violence, blood and death and she challenges the divinity. She is a bloodthirsty ogress. She verges on the macabre and grotesque, as you can see."

"So what significance does this have with the Hellmouth?" Cordelia asked with a frown.

Giles gave a frown of his own, "In eight days, the planets will be aligned and it will be the correct time for the ritual to bring the bitch goddess forth.

"If we don't stop this ritual…" Willow began.

"Then, Kali will be unleashed and there will be Hell on earth."

Everyone sat in silence for a long moment.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

...You Can Stay…

Giles had asked the blond if he had a place to stay.

Zack had told the Librarian that he did not.

Xander, without having to be prodded, offered his place since he had an extra bedroom.

Zack had agreed since it would give him a chance to observe the other transgenic.

Cordy decided to go with them, to be mediator for at least a little while.

Turning the key in the lock, Xander had Cordy felt that familiar, back of the neck sensation that always told them a demon was in the vicinity. Zack felt the same sensation, but did not know what it meant.

They could hear the sounds of the television playing lowly as they entered the small foyer.

Zack watched in curiosity as the pair removed their boots near the door. They also removed most of their weapons into the armoire that appeared to be too small for the area.

Xander turned an expectant look at the taller X5.

Zack stood there in silence as he looked back at the black haired transgenic.

Xander looked meaningfully at the other's shoes then back into his eyes.

Zack canted his head to the side questioningly.

"Remove your shoes, Brother Zack," the young man said impatiently.

Zack gave a sigh, rolled his eyes and finally removed his own boots.

Then he followed the pair further into Xander's apartment.

His eyes widened as he noticed a very pale, very wrinkled looking guy stand from the sofa and turn to look at them. The… man… had a box of bugle snacks clutched in one of his clawed hands.

"Nomalie," the blond whispered and took a step back.

The… thing… waved at them and smiled in a warm, friendly manner in spite of the heavy canine eyeteeth in his mouth. It spoke, "Hey, Xander. Hey, Cordelia. Hey, new guy."

"Hey, Clem," Xander said as he looked at the television curiously, an old rerun of 'I Love Lucy' was on… the episode about John Wayne's foot prints on the Hollywood Walk of Fame."

"Hey, Clem," Cordy smiled at the benign demon as she moved to hug him in greeting.

"Clem's not Manticore," Xander said barely above a whisper, "He's a demon."

Zack looked at the demon curiously as the young woman he had once known as Max moved to the kitchen.

"Clem, this is Zack," Xander said by way of introduction, "he'll be stayin' with me a while. Thanks for watchin' the place when I'm not here."

"Hey, no problem at all," the shar pei looking demon smiled as he clapped the dark haired young man on the shoulder. "If it keeps the other demons from stealing your stuff, then I'm doing my part."

Clem finally made his way to the blond and held out a hand.

Zack looked at it a long moment before he shook the cold, moist hand in an uncomfortable manner.

"I thought you killed these things," Zack turned his gaze on Cordelia and Xander.

"They do," Clem answered, not in the least offended that he talked about him like he was not even there, "They don't kill harmless demons like my kind, or Bracken demons, or Anogogics… there are others like me that are trying to make a living and doing the best they can."

"Yeah," Xander agreed as he popped a few L-tryptophan tablets into his mouth and chased them down with bottled water.

Clem bid everyone a cheery good evening before he left.

He began to tick off a list on his fingers, "As long as they ain't tryin' to kill or hurt me or mine. As long as they don't try to open the Hellmouth or bring about the Apocalypse. As long as they don't try to kill or hurt ordinaries. As long as they don't try to end the world. As long as they don't try to rape kids or women…"

"Your list's gotten longer," Cordy observed.

"Well, a lot's happened," the young man said as he sat on the sofa. Unsaid was for the others to make themselves at home.

Cordelia walked over and sat next to him on the couch.

Zack frowned as he looked at them.

The dark haired young man looked at the time, "The spare bedroom is through that door," he said as he pointed to it. "Bathroom's through that way, you know where the kitchen is…" he pointed once more, behind him, "That's my room."

Xander encircled his arms around his girlfriend, "Are you gonna stay or are you headed home? Its kinda late, or early depending on which you subscribe to, and your place is further away from school than my place."

The May Queen seemed to mull it over for a long moment, "I think I'll stay here… It'll be easier to get to school on time in the morning."

"Well, you take my bed and I'll crash here on the couch."

Cordelia smiled at him and mouthed, 'Thank you.'

"Not a problem," he said with a smile of his own as the couple shared a hug.

Zack sighed as he felt like a third wheel. 'At least he's not an ordinary,' the transgenic thought as he watched the couple.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

…New Realization…

Amy Madison's dad was an engineer for some big oil conglomerate and this was his month to work offshore. She hated the fact that he was gone half the time… one month on one month off, it was not fair. By the end of the school year, she knew he would miss her graduation and that upset her the most.

Other than the housekeeper that stopped in twice a week, the young woman had the run of the house while he was gone. In all that time, she had never been irresponsible by throwing a party, that just was not her thing.

That Saturday afternoon found Amy Madison at Albertsons shopping for things she needed at the house.

She placed milk, cheese, bread, ham, eggs, oranges, a box of clary sage and a box of salt on the checkout conveyor and stood behind a woman who was arguing with the cashier about not having her license.

Rolling her eyes, the Wicca tuned the argument out as she flipped through the Farmers' Almanac in her hand while she waited. She smirked as she flipped to the day's calendar section and noticed an odd symbol she did not recognize '§.'

Confused, she flipped each page and for six days it had the same symbol. She frowned and flipped the page one more time to find another symbol, '¤.'

She turned to the back of the book for the index of symbols and found the second symbol first. Her eyes widened as she realized she did not need to know what the first symbol meant and dog-eared the page.

She included the book in her purchases before she left the grocery store.

…Throw Away the Key and Then Turn off All the Lights...

Amy had plans to head straight to the Library as she made her way to her green Neon. Buffy and Faith teased her a lot about her small car, that they both could lift it one arm tied behind their backs blindfolded. But it was her car; it got her from point A to point B without any trouble even if it was funky looking.

As often is the case on the Hellmouth, plans generally tended to go sideways, especially for the Scoobies.

Opening the passenger door, Amy placed her purchases on the seat then closed the door. She put her keys to the lock in the driver's side door since the battery had run down on her keyless entry and she had not replaced it yet.

Everything faded to black as she was hit on the back of the head, she never saw her attacker.

…She's Trippin'...

Cordelia had gone to visit Xander and by extension Zack that Saturday afternoon.

The three of them sat on the sofa talking about the 'good ole days', when suddenly the young woman rose from her seat and began to pace around the apartment in nervous agitation.

Xander looked at his girlfriend with a concerned light in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Max?" Zack asked as he noticed also.

"Her name is Cordelia," the dark haired young man corrected automatically.

"Something's wrong," Cordy said with a frown as she sat down in a chair and tapped one of her legs in a nervous jittery manner.

Xander moved to kneel in front of her and looked up at her with a frown as he took her hands in his own. "What's wrong, Cor?"

"Don't know," she said with a frown. "It's like…" she tried to think of a way to explain what she was feeling, "…a part of me is missing all of a sudden."

"Maybe we aught to head to the Library," Xander suggested as he stood and pulled her up from the chair along with him.

"You run to this guy for all of your problems?" Zack snarked.

The other transgenic smirked, not rising to the bait, "Before Halloween, we were school students with ordinary, normal, everyday problems. After we changed, we were still school students with not so ordinary, normal problems." He sighed as they headed to the door and slipped on their shoes. "Giles understands what we're going through… knows the whole deal, Manticore parts and all. There's more to him than just Librarian."

"Yeah," Zack challenged as he slipped his own shoes on, "like what?"

As they headed out the door, Cordelia took up the challenge, "Giles is Buffy's Watcher so he's in the know about the supernatural. He's also got a hefty dose of magick ability thrown in for good measure."

"Really?" the blond asked curiously.

"Yeah…" the black haired young man nodded. "He's the real deal. So's Wil."

"Magick?"

"Yep, Magick," Cordy said in a whisper as they piled into Xander's red, mustang convertible.

"Magick?" the transgenic echoed in disbelief from the back seat as he glanced at the rear-view mirror.

Dark brown eyes peered at him through the mirror, Xander was not bullshitting him.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

…He's Trippin'...

Dr. and Dr. Rosenburg were psychiatrists, and this week they had gone to Houston, Texas, to the big PsychCon at the Houston Hilton, Convention and Visitors Bureau. As often was the case, the pair left their daughter home alone; they had been doing this since she was six years old.

That Saturday afternoon found Willow and Oz in the study "studying" for their big Chemistry test on Wednesday.

Suddenly, the werewolf jumped away from his girlfriend and began to pace around the room in agitation.

"Oz?" Willow inquired as she pouted swollen lips and green eyes gazed at him in curiosity.

Looking out the bay window, the young musician ran a hand through spiky black hair as he looked for any actual or perceived threat. Finding nothing, the young man began to pace once more.

"Oz?" the red headed witch tried once more to get his attention, "What's wrong?"

He spared her an agitated glace as he began to pace once more. "Something's not right," he said with a frown.

"What?" Willow said as she rose from her seat, "What's not right?"

"Don't know," the young man sagged against the door jamb as he looked at her concern clouding his own green eyes.

She tilted her head sideways as she looked at him, "Maybe if we head to the Library, Giles might be able to figure out what's going on."

"Sure lets go," Oz said enthusiastically as he grabbed his keys and wallet from the desk and headed toward the door knowing full well that his girlfriend was hot on his heels.

…We Shall Assemble…

Giles sat at the table in the Library reading another large, ancient tome. His glasses rested long forgotten on the counter near his office. Since it was the weekend, the Immortal relaxed in a comfortable pair of faded jeans and a taupe colored pullover.

His head snapped toward the double doors as they banged loudly. Faith entered with Buffy not far behind. As the dark Slayer reached his table, she hopped up onto it next to his book and tried to read over his shoulder. The Watcher sighed heavily as he looked up at her.

When he noticed Faith's frown, Giles closed the book and looked up at her in curiosity, "What's wrong?"

"Something's not right, G," she said as her eyes darted around the room as though she expected a shadow to jump out and attack them.

Looking to his Slayer, the Immortal's eyes conveyed his question silently.

"She's been acting like this for about an hour and a half," Buffy answered his silent question. "I don't know what the hell is going on," the blonde shrugged.

Giles frowned thoughtfully and was about to comment but was interrupted by the door banging a second time.

Everyone turned, Faith, keyed up as she was, jumped into a fighting stance.

"It's alright," Xander said as he lifted his hands to forestall any violence.

Cordelia and Zack followed him into the room.

Immediately, the May Queen told Giles what had happened earlier and how she still felt restless, as though something were missing.

The older man looked between the two young women, then looked at the others. "Are any of you feeling like they are?" he asked as he brought a hand up, realized he did not have his glasses, then put his hand back down in dismay.

A chorus of "No's" answered him as he walked over to the counter and grabbed the infernal glasses to clean them.

Suddenly, the doors banged once more and Oz entered, Willow rushing to catch up with him.

Zack tried to stay out of the way of the madness so he stood to the side and watched the goings on with hidden curiosity.

"Something is not right," the werewolf said as soon as he reached the group.

"What about the others? Jonathon and Amy," Giles asked as he observed the young people with a deep worry line creasing his forehead, "have you spoken to either of them to see if they had the same symptoms?"

"No," Cordy said with a frown as she pulled her cell phone, "I'll call Amy right now…" she stepped away to make her phone call.

"I'll call Jonathon," Xander said as he pulled his own cell phone from his belt and moved to the stacks.

Not seconds later Xander had the young man on the phone and asked him how he was doing, if he were feeling apprehensive about something.

Snapping his phone closed, the black haired young man walked back to the group. "He says he's fine…" Xander shrugged as he looked over at his girlfriend.

In frustration, Cordelia growled as she snapped her phone closed and stalked back to the group. "I can't raise her," she frowned worriedly.

Faith snapped a finger as though in remembrance, "She did mention something about going to Albertsons for some stuff she needed for the house."

"Ooh, and components for a spell she was working on," Willow confirmed with a nod.

"Okay," Buffy said in general mode, "Oz, Willow, you guys go check her usual ritual spot in the park. Xander, Cordelia, go to her house, see if she made it back yet. Faith and I will check the grocery, she might still be there. Giles, keep the home fires burning in case she comes here."

"What about me?" Zack asked.

Everyone turned to him in surprise, no one expected or asked him to contribute.

"Go with Xander and Cordy, they know you best. If you want to help, don't be useless," she gave him that stern, Slayer look and that told him that she was not the airhead she played in class.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

...It's a Kind of Magic…

The only pair that had any luck in looking for Amy was Buffy and Faith who had stumbled upon the young woman's unlocked car in the parking lot of Albertsons. Faith had driven it back to the school where they could keep an eye on it. The girls, once they reached the parking lot, pulled the young woman's belongings out of the backseat and brought them into the Library.

Willow and Oz followed the young women inside.

Buffy tumbled the young Wicca's school books and purse onto the table while Faith brought the perishable food items to the mini refrigerator in Giles' office.

The brunette Slayer noticed the magazine, shrugged as she grabbed it and brought it out to the pile of Amy's belongings.

Noticing the cover of the book, Giles blinked, "May I see that, Faith?"

"Sure," the young woman said with a shrug as she handed the book over to him.

Flipping the book, the Immortal turned to the dog-eared page and tilted his head sideways at the strange symbol. "What in the world does that mean?" he wondered barely above a whisper as he turned the book to view the symbol at different angles. "Hmn," he said thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin then finally turned to the index in the back. He read the description then looked heavenward, thinking.

"What is it, Giles?" Willow asked curiously as she tried to read over his shoulder.

At that moment, the transgenics entered the room.

"I noticed her car," Cordelia said quickly with concern, "Is she here?"

"I'm sorry, Cordelia," Giles said as he frowned and shook his head.

"The door was wide open when we got there," Buffy said with a frown.

"We're lucky someone didn't jack the car," Faith said on the tail end of the blonde Slayer's words.

"Damn it!" Xander exclaimed in frustration.

"Where the hell is she!" Cordy exclaimed as she restlessly paced around the room rubbing her arms compulsively.

The other transgenics picked up on her agitation and Zack started pacing as well.

Xander, since he had been Alec and had more training, was able to curb the restless nature of the predator, "G-man, is there anything we can do to find her?"

Giles looked at him for a long moment before he responded, "Yes there is, I need an atlas, a pendulum and some salt."

"There's some salt in yer office," Faith said as she headed there to get the container.

Xander moved quickly to the reference section to grab an atlas and brought it back to spread it open on the other table.

The Watcher moved over to Amy's belongings and grabbed up a handkerchief from the young woman's purse.

The brunette Slayer rushed back into the main part of the Library and handed the box of Morton's Salt to Giles.

"Thank you, Faith," he said as he took the salt from her and moved over to the table, "Buffy, could you please grab four crystals from the windowsill?"

The blonde smiled and bounced over to the window to do her part. She rushed back over with four medium sized quartz crystals and handed them over.

First, the Watcher flipped to the map of Sunnydale and the surrounding area. Next, he placed the kerchief next to the map. Then he set the crystals in a directional: North, East, South, West pattern surrounding the atlas. He then poured the salt in a circle encompassing all items. Once he was done setting up the area and caste a circle of protection, he began the spell.

Willow got as close as she possibly could without disturbing him so she could watch his every move.

Raising his hands and breathing deeply to center and ground himself, Giles began to chant, "Laudo Hermes, pax pacis. Commodo aviudo expiscor sin qua non, Aimée. Bona fide pro forma. Ad infinitum."

Xander translated quietly on the sidelines, "Praise Hermes, peace. Please help find someone indispensable, Amy. With all honesty, in a formal manner. To infinity without end."

The others watched as the crystals and salt took on a green glow.

"Accio," the Immortal said as he placed a hand, palm up and waited expectantly.

"Come."

A small, fat pendulum the size of an egg with a chain attached flew to his hand.

With the chain held above the atlas, the pendulum swung in an erratic, circular pattern. As he moved the pendulum closer to the book, it slowed down and as he moved the chain around it continued to swing.

Suddenly, to the surprise of everyone watching intently, the chain was ripped out of Giles' hand and the pendulum flung itself to rest its point on a spot on the map.

Scratching the back of his head in surprise, Zack remained silent as he watched. He had never seen something like this before, would never have thought magick were possible other than in fairy stories. They were telling the truth about all of it.

Everyone crowded the atlas after the spell was complete and looked to see where the pendulum had landed.

"Bronson Caves?" Cordelia frowned.

"What's there that would be of any interest to anyone?" Xander said with a frown of his own.

"Well," Buffy resolved to get to the bottom of this mystery, "let's go there and find out."

Author's Note: If anyone has a better suggestion for the spell cast in this chapter, please message me and I'll fix it in the story.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

…The Heart of the Matter…

Against Xander's recommendations, it had been decided, by Buffy, to call Angel for assistance.

Willow called Jonathon to come to the Library as well.

They both reached the school at roughly the same time.

Introductions between Zack and Angel were made, and it was explained that the older man was a vampire. That odd feeling of hackles being raised came back full force when the transgenic was in the ensouled vampire's presence. It was quietly noticed by the blond X5 that the black haired young man, who at one point had been X5-494, had moved away from the other dark haired man.

"Okay, so what's the sitch, Watcher-man?" Xander asked as he sat next to Giles at the big round table.

The Watcher frowned as he removed his glasses; he placed them on the table and began, "Six days from now, the planets will be in alignment." He handed Willow the Farmer's Almanac.

The Witch quickly flipped to the dog-eared page and gasped, "Oh… ooh!"

"So, alignment for…" Buffy said expectantly as she waited for the Immortal to continue with his explanation.

"The Cult of Kali needs a human sacrifice to present to their goddess…"

He was cut off by Jonathon, "Can't they just use any old sacrifice for this ritual?"

"No," Giles frowned, "The person they sacrifice has to be someone of magickal ability."

"Someone like Willow, Jonathon, you or Amy," Cordelia said with mounting agitation.

"Correct," the older man said, "I'm sorry, dear." He patted the young woman's shoulder.

"So why are we goin' ape shit?" Faith asked as she moved to the counter and hopped up onto it.

"You three are going 'ape shit,' to use your colorful phrase, because you are linked."

"Linked?" Oz asked as he looked at his girlfriend then back to Giles.

"Linked as in how?" Cordelia asked as she sat down next to Xander and peered passed him at the Librarian.

"There's not much needs be done to link," he tried to explain.

"Coven members do it automatically," Willow piped up from where she stood near one of the book stacks as she watched as Oz went back to pacing. For the mellow musician to be agitated there had to be something going on.

"But we're not a coven," Oz said with a frown.

"No," Xander agreed, "but you are pack."

The members of team two snapped their attention to him.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Faith snapped more than asked. "Like animals, Xan?"

Taking in a huge breath since he knew he would reveal something he wished would remain buried. The dark haired young man looked down at the table, "Remember Sophomore year when we went to the zoo?"

Oz nodded as realization and understanding dawned. "Pack," he remembered them telling him about the incident.

Buffy and Willow frowned at their Xander shaped friend.

"The hyena didn't leave me with a memory lapse like I said she did," he said as he traced the grain in the oak tabletop.

"Excuse me," Buffy growled as she rose from her seat and shoved her fists onto her hips. The chair she had been sitting in flung violently back with a loud, echoing screech that had everyone with sensitive ears cringing.

The young man's shoulders slumped.

"You remember everything that happened?" Willow asked quietly, "Even when you tried to…"

"Back off," Cordelia snapped as she placed a hand on the young man's arm. "Its in the past… what's in the past stays in the past."

The girls looked at her with twin expressions of displeasure.

"Back to the subject at hand, guys," Jonathon tried to mediate.

"Thank you, Jonathon," Giles said with a grateful smile to the short young man. "In other words, what Xander is trying to explain, is that since the four of you are friends, and supernatural, you've formed a natural bond… it will go away once you stop being part of the same group."

"So, meanwhile," Cordy groused, "we're going to get like this every time something happens to one of us?"

"Exactly," he said with a nod.

"So why did Xander's group not 'bond'?" Faith said with air quotes around the last word.

"I'd imagine because there's too much infighting going on, and alpha dominance between Xander and Buffy has not been established," Giles explained.

"Lets get to the real issue at hand," Willow said diplomatically as she did not want her two best friends to fight.

…Go to the Mattresses…

With everyone finally seated around the main table in the Library, except for Faith who had remained on her perch at the counter. Giles began to explain about the cultist group.

"They are fanatics and will defend their goddess with religious zeal unseen by most. The highest ranking individuals wear red robes. And the Maester is honored above all other members, he is the closest to the deity. The Maester has bluish tattoos covering his face, and his two front teeth have been removed… this shows his highest status among the members. Aside from being distinguished from the rest, he is powerful in magick."

The three transgenics had to restrain themselves from shuddering as they thought of psychopath Ben and his amateur dental surgery.

"Mostly chi, right?" Xander asked.

When the others looked at him he defended, "What? I read."

"Yes," the Librarian said as everyone turned back to him. "Xander is correct on that point." He sighed heavily, "These cultists will try to make manifest the Goddess Kali and bring forth the destruction of the human race."

"We ain't waiting til the ritual," Xander said, it was a statement not a question.

"We don't even know where in the caves she would be," Buffy said with a frown.

"We have three people who can sense her presence," Xander argued, "We have four people who have heightened senses of smell. Three of us are able to cast magick spells. Six of us have superhuman strength. Collectively, I'd say we make for a pretty powerful group of people."

"But where are we going to look?" Willow said as she tried to back up Buffy.

Xander rose from his seat, colonel mode completely activated, "No more meeting, no more discussions. These creeps have one of our own, I say we go to the mattresses."

"What?" Buffy and Willow frowned as others, specifically the males in the room nodded in agreement.

"Its from the Godfather," Faith said as she looked at the dark haired young man curiously, "It means we go to war."

"The Godfather?" Buffy frowned, "You mean that movie with the creepy old guy?"

"What is it with the Godfather?" Willow wondered thoughtfully.

"The Godfather is the I Ching of all movies…" Oz said with a thoughtful look on his young face.

"Wisdom," Angel said with a nod.

Buffy scowled at everyone then looked back at Xander.

Xander turned dark brown, nearly black, eyes on her and sighed, "I say we go over there. Find these take over the world cultists and beat them til they realize that they should not mess with the Slayer and her friends."

"But they're human," the Slayer said with a shake of her head.

"So what," Xander said as he frowned at her. "They hurt one of our own; we should hurt 'em back."

"We're at war," Jonathon agreed with a nod, "They made it personal when they took Amy."

"Go to the mattresses," Faith said with a nod as she hopped off the counter.

"What do you know about it anyway?" Buffy snapped at her sarcastically.

The dark Slayer frowned as she looked at the blonde, "That was my father's favorite movie." She walked away from the group, toward the double doors. "Are we going?" she asked impatiently without turning back to the group.

"Let's fight," Cordelia said as she rose from her seat. She moved to the curvy brunette and placed a hand on her arm in sympathy.

"Ramblers," Xander said as he rose from his own seat and headed toward the door, "Let's get ramblin'."


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

...Five by Five...

On the outskirts of town, in the foothills to the south, the Scoobies had converged to further discuss their plans.

"Do you sense anything?" Xander asked as he looked at his girlfriend with concern.

"Yeah," she said very quietly as she lifted a finger and pointed toward an outcropping.

Faith and Oz nodded in agreement as they looked toward the same area.

"Unfortunately," Giles said as he consulted a book he held in his hands, "there are no maps to this part of the caverns. Most of these caves were produced by earthquakes hundreds and thousands of years ago."

"Isn't this near where the catacombs are located," Buffy inquired thoughtfully as she looked at the landscape.

"Yeah," the black haired transgenic agreed as he looked around and rubbed the back of his neck. "I remember dragging Overbite along with me to rescue the damsel in distress," he referred to the incident during the Harvest.

"Shut up," Cordelia said but it did not carry any anger.

Angel frowned, "There's a chamber large enough to fit over a thousand vampires… they could use that as their ritual site." Sighing heavily though he did not need it, the vampire continued, "It's a labyrinth of caves, I don't know how we'll find her."

"Don't be so hopeless," Willow said as she tried to brighten up the mood. "Lets just come up with a good plan before we go in there and everything will work out in the end."

"They're all human worshipers," the Watcher said as he pulled a sword, from where on his body was anyone's guess.

Xander nodded, "As far as I'm concerned anyone with the goal of world destruction forfeits any protection bein' human offers. I say we go in and kill every damn one of 'em and show no mercy."

Even though Buffy and Willow frowned, the others were in full agreement.

Buffy sighed sadly, she never expected her Xander shaped friend to be all gung ho for the killing.

"There is another way in," Angel said darkly as he looked at the young man, "There's a way through the sewer systems that begins near the Sunnydale college campus. It's quicker, but trickier."

"We shouldn't split up," Xander said with a frown. "We don't know what we're up against; don't know how many tangos are in there. We are probably out manned and out gunned."

"We are going to split into two groups," Buffy said as she frowned at her friend. "The first group will be Me, Angel, Willow and Oz and we'll enter through from Sunnydale U. We will search for Amy and any other victims there might be."

Xander frowned, gritted his teeth and remained silent… if this thing went Fubar, he would let her have it.

"The other team will be Faith, Cordy, Xander and Mack."

"Zack," several of the others corrected her.

"Whatever. You guys go through the front door, create a diversion so we can do our job."

"How are you going to do that?" Willow asked as she looked over at her long time friend.

Xander gave an evil grin, "We're gonna kill 'em all." He turned to the dark Slayer with a questioning light in his eye, "Are you down with that?"

Faith smirked, "Five by five, Xan."

"What the heck does that mean?" Buffy scowled at the other Slayer.

"Crystal clear," Xander explained with a small smirk to his lips.

"What about us?" Jonathon asked as he indicated both Giles and himself.

"Stay outside," Buffy said with a frown, "If anything comes out…"

"We know what to do," Giles finished for her as he mockingly saluted her with his sword.

"Two hours til sundown," Angel said as he looked up at the sky, "We'd better get going if we're going to make it in time for the sewer entrance at SU."

"Let's get this show on the road then," Xander sounded aggravated.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

…The Sun Descends…

"What is her problem, X?" Faith asked as she watched the others depart.

"I have a feelin' she still sees me as the goofy Zeppo with delusions of bein' with her."

"But you're so not like that anymore," Cordelia said with a frown.

Xander shrugged, "Up until the anniversary of Halloween, I played the part."

Zack watched the interaction curiously, trying to find something he could use against his rival later.

"She's been back how long? She's on your team," the May Queen groused, "If she hasn't figured it out by now…"

"…chances are she won't until it hits her on the head with a two-by-four," the black haired youth finished for her.

The young man walked around to pop the trunk of his car; he unzipped the duffel bag that stayed there all the time.

He tossed a small ear piece to the new person in the group who caught it on reflex. "What's this?" the big blond transgenic asked as he looked at what looked like a tiny hearing aide.

"You know those nifty implants we have at the back of our skulls in order to communicate with one another?" Cordy asked him quietly.

"Yeah," Zack's brow creased as he looked at them curiously.

"They don't work here," Xander said as he rummaged in his bag some more. "Faith, do you know how to handle guns?"

Smirking, Faith placed a hand on her hip, "I can handle a pistol," she said suggestively.

"Not that kind of weaponry," the other young woman snapped in agitation as she rolled her eyes.

"Yes," the Slayer said all joking aside, "I do. My uncle taught me."

"Then I expect you to carry," the X5 said with a sigh as he handed her a weapon and some ammo. He turned to his girlfriend, "Cor."

"You know where I stand with guns," she said with a frown.

Xander smirked, "That's alright." He rummaged around in his bag a bit more until he found a small gold envelope.

The others looked on in curiosity as he handed it to her.

"What the heck is this?" she asked as she eyed the package with trepidation.

"I went to Oxnard a couple of weeks ago to visit Uncle Rory, you know, the only respectable family member I have left," he began to explain. "Anyway, there's an old Peace Woman there named Anne Moise who when I was younger I'd sit at her knee and listen to stories about the old times. I told her about you and she made those for you. She said she wove some protections into them."

Being the first time she heard about this, Cordelia smiled up at him, "I didn't know that about you."

Xander smiled lovingly at her, "There's lots of things you don't know about me."

"Come on, come on," Faith snapped at them, "If you're not gonna put on a show then I don't wanna see sappy stuff."

Zack frowned at her.

Shaking out of her trance, the brunette X5 smiled as she pulled the two items from the small package.

Two homemade bracelets fell out into her hands… their intricate designs intrigued her as she slipped first one then the other on her wrists.

"Alec," she whispered as she looked up at him with wonder in her eyes.

The black haired young man ducked his head as Cordelia moved in closer to him.

"Let's go, people, time's wasting," the big blond said impatiently, he did not want to see another display.

The other transgenics snapped apart and Xander went back to rummaging in the duffel he pulled out something wrapped in a cloth and handed it to his girlfriend.

"More gifts?" she smiled as she looked up at him.

"Open it," he said as he looked at her.

She unwrapped the cloth to reveal twin short swords, "Xander!"

The young man shrugged, "I figured if you wouldn't use a gun you'll surely be a sight to behold carrying blades."

"Oh, X," Faith said as she looked at the other brunette's swords with a little envy, "Hook a sista up."

Xander smirked as he rummaged through the trunk of his car to find a sheathed long sword and handed it over to her. "It that acceptable?" he asked the brunette Slayer.

She smirked, "If you weren't so committed to your hippie chick I'd kiss you."

"Brother Zack could take up the slack," Xander said with a smirk and tilted his head toward the other transgenic.

Faith eyed the big blond up and down as though she were assessing meat in the grocery store. "I don't know," she said as though mulling it over, "I don't know if he'd be able to keep up with me."

"Oh," Xander confirmed with a nod, "he'd be able to keep up. And he's strong enough to take it."

She spared a second look at the blond. "I don't know," she said thoughtfully, "I'd have to take him for a test drive."

"Talk about me like I'm not even here," Zack sounded aggravated, "meanwhile times ticking."

Xander rolled his eyes as he threw a couple of guns to Zack who easily caught them. Then he heaved several clips of ammo at him as well. As he caught each item, he automatically put it where it needed to go. Finally, Xander handed a sheathed long dagger over to him.

"What the heck is this thing for?" the big blond asked as he shrugged and slipped it on his belt regardless.

"That is in case you run out of ammo…" the other transgenic said as he loaded up with his own guns and ammo. "Make sure its one shot one kill… nothing spared. You sure you're alright killin' humans, Faith?"

The Slayer shrugged as a hard look stole into her dark eyes, "They ceased being human when they took Amy."

Xander spared a final look at his girlfriend, "Cor, kill 'em quickly," he advised.

Cordelia smiled as she moved up to his side and gave him a sideways hug, "Everything will turn out okay in the end."

"I hope so," the young man said as he squeezed her in response, "I really hope so."


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

…Worse Than North Korea…

"This is gonna be worse than North Korea," Xander said as the three of them followed Cordelia as she followed the pull she felt of Amy's presence.

"What do you mean, North Korea, Xander?" Faith asked as she looked over at him from her spot with Zack in the middle.

"I went on a mission in North Korea when I was fourteen," he explained. "There were six of us, only two of us made it out."

"What happened that it was a cluster?" Cordelia asked from up front, concern laced her voice.

"We were betrayed by one of our handlers," he growled. "Jerk switched sides…" he sighed heavily, "… I don't wanna talk about it anymore."

The cat burglar stopped and turned. They locked eyes for a long moment in silent communication.

Xander smiled and nodded as though he understood what passed between them and the young woman continued down the tunnels.

…Preparations…

The Parthenonesque cave was almost ready. The altar below the deity's feet had been prepared several days in advance. Above the goddess' head, a red circlet suspended from the ceiling represented the basic element fire. Suspended from the ceiling at about shoulder level hung a yellow circlet representing the basic element earth. Lower, closer to her left leg, hung a grey circlet representing metal. Across from this symbol, on her left side, hung suspended a blueish-black circlet representing water. Across from the representation of earth, a green circlet hung suspended, this one represented the basic element of wood. All five symbols represented the eastern five elements model.

The Maester was on the raised dais, rereading from the spell book so that he could memorize the spell and have it fresh in his mind for the main event.  
His lips moved silently as he repeated the ancient spell. He wore his red robes with the hood up so that his face was concealed.

He went through the motions of the somatic components of the spell so that his body would have muscular memory.

Not far from him, the other occupants of the cave were either still in supplication above, or working to prepare the site.

Acolytes flitted to and fro as they quickly worked to prepare the site for the main sacrifice in six days, now five days time.

…Lay of the Land…

Oz parked his van as close to the sewer entrance as he could. The group quickly exited the van and gathered around the entrance.

Angel moved over to the cover and pulled it open with his vampiric strength.

Oz sighed heavily and said, "Well, here goes," he entered the sewers with the others closing ranks behind him. Angel took up the rear as he pulled the cover back on the access tunnel.

When they reached what looked like the beginnings of the catacombs, they were able to hear voices coming through the sub vocal communication devices resting in their ears.

"This is Hunter Team two," Xander's voice came through.

The radios were activated when the wearer tapped the small mic that protruded from their ear. This small device, pilfered from Edwards Air Force Base, left the user's hands free.

"I read you," Buffy responded, everyone could clearly hear the frown in her voice.

"Everyone else?" the young man asked.

Everyone made their "Okays" for the radio check.

"Okay, from here on out," Xander explained, "Only talk when necessary. Just a word of advice: Assume that the numbers are stacked against up… Willow, wide area range of effect spells… lets assume we've got the superior fighting skills… and the fact that this is a surprise visit is most likely very beneficial to our cause.

"Use the terrain to your advantage, bottleneck 'em so you have the home field advantage. And keep together, don't let 'em separate you. They'll try really hard to hand our asses back to us if we're not a part of the group."

"Any other words of wisdom, oh wise one?" Cordelia quipped with a smile.

"Don't die," the black haired young man said as he looked at her.

"Don't die," Oz said into his own mic, "way to inkindle bravery, Xand."

Once they had entered the catacombs, the werewolf moved at a faster pace as the pull toward his pack mate forced him in a certain direction.

Willow had to struggle to keep up with the others so that she would not be left behind.

Oz turned to look at the others to make sure they were keeping up and noticed Willow valiantly trying. He smiled and slowed down for his girlfriend.

They shared a moment between the two sets of green eyes locked.

Willow gave a wispy smile as she brushed one of her hands down his arm.

Oz turned back and continued where the strange connection to his friend would take him.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

…March of the Hunters…

Unexpectedly, Xander growled out a warning.

Cordelia stopped and turned to him, "What gives?"

"There's something up ahead," he whispered as instincts that he did not completely understand took over and he became dead quiet. Silently, the black haired young man moved to stand in front of her.

The big blond, the dark Slayer and the cat burglar turned their gazes on him. They had not sensed anything, so how would he know if he were in the rear of the group?

Xander crouched low as his enhanced eyes penetrated the darkness and he stretched his senses to capacity.

The young man stood on the balls of his feet as though ready to spring into action at a moments notice. He grabbed the dagger from his boot and waited patiently as though ready to ambush his prey.

Cordelia watched him curiously, she had never seen him, or Alec for that matter, act like this.

Suddenly, the young man blurred past them through the darkened corridor and the others heard light struggling sounds as something, or someone, fought against him. Then there was silence.

As he turned back, the young man's eyes glowed that eerie green, the transgenic retinas reflecting like a cat's or a hyena's eyes.

As he returned, the group noticed a faint scent of blood as he shoved the blade back into his boot.

"How?" Cordy inquired as she looked at him, a strange light in her eyes.

He smirked, "I don't think the hyena's completely gone."

"You're taking this time to tell us?" Faith hissed at him.

The young man shrugged, "Never thought it would bother me before now with all the other weirdness goin' on in my life."

"Good nose, hyena-boy," the cat burglar quipped as she rolled her eyes.

He gave her a slight bow and waved a hand down the tunnel, "Lead on, McDuff," he smirked darkly.

'What the hell is this about a hyena?' Zack thought as he followed the others. His eyes were firmly, mistrustfully, on the other transgenic.

…Rescue Aid Society…

As they walked along the tunnels, Buffy frowned at the squishy, mushy quality of the ground at her feet. Only a few years ago she was down here, trying to survive the night of the Harvest. It brought back memories better left forgotten.

Stone stairs, carved in rock, descended into the blackness. Since three of the four were able to see in the dark, they did not have to worry about light. But Willow carried a small penlight and every time she clicked it on, it wreaked havoc with their enhanced senses.

"Look," the Slayer snapped in agitation. "Hold my hand and I'll lead you." It had been the umpteenth time that the Witch had turned on the light.

Willow frowned as she clasped her friend's hand and shoved the light into a pocket in her jeans.

"It's just 'Night of the Living Dead' creepy around here," the red head chattered nervously. "Luckily there are no frogs around or all bets would be off."

"Everything'll be alright, Willow," Oz reassured her from his spot up front.

"Ssh," Angel said as he moved forward.

Two robed figures stood guard up ahead. Their robes looked inky black due to color seeping away in the darkness so they were easily overlooked in the blackness of the catacombs.

Angel moved as quietly as the dead up to their position and bashed their heads together none too gently. He helped the pair to the ground silently then turned to the group.

His eyes reflected the demonic crimson light as he looked at them, expectantly.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

…Why So Silent?…

When they reached the large double doors that led to the ritual chamber, the only reason Faith was able to understand the hand signal argument was because Xander and Cordelia had taught her what they meant.

'We are not going in there guns blazing,' Xander signed rapidly to Zack.

The large blond frowned as he signed just as quickly, 'It'll be faster that way.'

'And paint ourselves into a corner?' the crease in the black haired young man's forehead was the only indication that he was agitated. 'No. Recon first before we come up with the easiest plan of attack.'

Zack shook his head.

'We are outnumbered,' Xander signed, 'Some of the people in there will have magick, Jonathon's not with us so we don't have any backup in that regard. And Buffy kept the Witch with her.'

'Whatever,' Zack scoffed as he backed off for now.

Cordelia frowned as she placed a hand on her boyfriend's arm.

He looked down at her, agitation clear in his eyes. He gave the symbol to wait then moved to the huge double doors.

Putting an ear to the door, Xander listened intently as he closed his eyes to get rid of distractions. He heard a low level, resonating chant, and below that screaming and crying sounds from some place higher up. He also heard a low scuffling noise as though it were far off in the distance.

He stepped away from the doors and back to the group.

'There's another way in,' he signed. 'We circle around get to the back door, that way we get in without anyone the wiser.'

The big blond frowned and looked at the young woman who in his mind was Max Guevara. Though he remained silent, she knew he asked, 'Do you think that's a good plan?'

Cordy looked from her boyfriend to her brother and smiled, then nodded.

Xander, Faith and Cordelia turned and rushed through the tunnels.

Zack frowned as he followed at a more sedate pace, easily keeping up with his longer legs.

…When Israel Was in Egypt's Land…

"We're close," Oz said barely above a whisper, "This way."

The others followed the werewolf as he led them through a dark corridor.

"We're almost there," he said as he felt the pull get closer to him.

They found themselves in a torch lit hall ten feet tall be five feet wide.

"Let us out," some scruffy looking guy said as he had a hand through the bars in his window.

Ignoring that, Oz continued down the hallway.

Other scruffy looking people beseeched them to help.

Someone further down the hall said, "I haven't had anything to east since last week."

Frowning, the group of hunters continued to follow their musician friend.

Oz made the hand symbol for everyone to stop as he canted his head to the side and listened.

The vampire and the Slayer followed his action and listened intently. But what the werewolf was 'hearing' was not something aloud.

Oz moved to the end of the hall ignoring the prisoners with their hands outstretched toward him. He reached the door at the far end of the hall and looked through the window.

Stepping back, he examined the door. "Guys," he called, "a little help over here."


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

…Had a Great Fall...

Both young men entered the chamber through the back door guns drawn. Xander went to the right while Zack went to the left. Both transgenics crouched as low as possible.

The black haired X5 signaled to Faith and Cordelia to go up on the balconies on either side of the room and cause as much chaos as they could without getting hurt.

The Slayer and the cat burglar jumped to the second floor balcony like a pair of cats jumping into trees.

As the pair began to free the people chained to the walls and both met resistance by the people who were up there praying.

The first body of a worshiper was thrown over the side of the balcony to the left and drew the attention of the Acolytes below them.

That was when the black haired young man began taking shots at red robed individuals at his level.

Zack spared a glance at the black haired youth, not wanting to be left out, he too began shooting.

"Well," Xander murmured loud enough that Zack could hear, "we're outnumbered 20 to 1, and you wanted to go through the front door?"

Zack frowned as the young man subtly said 'I told you so.'

Then, there was no room to talk as they shot every fanatic that headed toward them.

"This is so not good," Xander said as he rammed another clip home and continued taking shots with his semi-automatic rifle.

"Is there another plan, oh great one?" the blond asked sarcastically as he gritted his teeth and shoved another clip into his own gun. He closed ranks next to the younger man as he watched their asses jump quickly from the frying pan into the fire.

"Give me a minute, I'll think of something," he looked up and up at the obsidian representation of Kali.

Xander sent a few quick hand signals at the big blond who also looked up at the terrible idol.

The pair quickly abandoned their posts and scrambled up the idol as they avoided jolts of magick lightning sent to them by the scarlet robed Maester as he watched them defile his goddess.

Xander held onto the deity's shoulder and stretched out to place his feet on the wall, they just barely reached. "Damn," he hissed, "not tall enough."

Zack rolled his eyes as he looked at the other transgenic and copied his position on the opposite shoulder.

Though the black haired young man could only help by pushing with the balls of his feet, the big blond had the leverage needed to push.

The other X5 carefully crab walked over to a position closer to the wall where the statue's neck protruded and he began to push as well.

The Obsidian Goddess Kali began to teeter-totter forward until it tipped far enough that the 40 foot statue started to topple forward and the ground rushed up quickly.

…To the Rescue…

At the sound of gunfire, Buffy flinched and the trio turned toward the direction they thought the sound was coming from. Oz ignored all distractions as he examined the door to find a way to get it open.

Buffy, Willow and Angel watched as ten robed figures marched past the open corridor without sparing them a glance.

The trio looked at one another then turned back to the werewolf.

"I wish Xander or Cordy were with us," the now black haired musician said more to himself than anyone else.

"Why's that?" Buffy asked as she moved up to find out what he was doing.

"Cause they could pick the lock on the door," Oz told her, "as it is, breaking the door down will cause a LOT of noise. Draw too much attention."

The others moved up behind them.

"Maybe not," Willow said as she pushed her way to get in front of them.

"What are you gonna do?" Oz asked as he looked at his girlfriend.

Willow smiled as she looked at him, "Magick it open."

Oz instinctively stepped back a couple of steps.

Angel saw his apprehensive move and moved along with him.

"What?" Willow said as she looked at them.

"I love you, sweetie," Oz said, "but I'm not foolish."

Buffy looked over at the others, forehead creased. "Hey!" she protested, somewhat insulted as she stepped over to them.

Willow shook her head and turned back to the door. Closing her eyes to focus, she grounded and centered herself in her magick. She lifted her hands toward the door and quietly, she said, "Apertum." The door unlocked itself and opened, hinges creaking.

The lycanthrope rushed forward, nearly knocking the red head out of his way in his haste to get to his pack mate.

Amy lay, unconscious, on a low bench in the small cell. A nice sized goose egg sat on the right side of her forehead near her temple.

The others stopped when they realized that the room was too small for everyone.

The young man let out a growl at the Wicca's condition as he stooped down and lifted her into his arms.

Turning as gently as possible, Oz headed out of the room.

Angel stopped him as the young man began to head through the doorway.

Intense green eyes looked up at the vampire in impatience. "What now?" the young man demanded.

"Let me take the lead, you and Willow stay in the middle and Buffy can bring up the rear. This way, the witch is protected by all of us, and I know the quickest way out of this labyrinth." Angel volunteered.

The musician frowned but nodded, then followed the vampire with his girlfriend at his side.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

…All Fall down, Like Toy Soldiers…

A lot of people yelled as the obsidian statue toppled and began to fall.

At the last possible moment, the two male X5s jumped and landed on the ground in crouches and were met by an onrush of zealot worshipers. Both Xander and Zack switched to hand to hand combat as they pulled out dagger and knife respectively and stood back to back near the still falling statue.

Several Acolytes raised their hands as the icon fell to soften the blow, but the poor misguided souls were crushed under the thunderous impact.

The Maester, teeth clenched and with a primal yell, charged the dark haired defiler and the other attackers rushed out of the way to give him room.

{A curse upon you, you sweat from an elephant's balls,} the Maester growled at the young interloper.

Xander laughed and responded in perfect Hindu, {Is that all you can come up with? I could eat alphabet soup and shit better insults.}

The scarlet robed figure tackled the young man to the ground.

As he received the tattooed tyrant, the dagger in the transgenic's right hand went up and into the side of the ribcage between the sixth and seventh ribs. The blade pierced the left lung followed quickly by the heart, killing the Maester nearly instantly.

The fight went out of the other worshipers when they saw their leader fall. After that, it was easy pickings.

Xander pushed the body off of him and rose to his feet. His blade, he pulled from the dead Maester and wiped it clean on the body. He stepped away from the dead man and looked around the room.

Up in the balconies, he noticed that the girls were doing alright. He looked over at the big blonde and noticed that he was none the worse for ware.

He saw that Cordelia had finished freeing the last captive and jumped down from above to kick one of the Acolytes in the head. Said Acolyte fell to the ground unconscious.

Smiling at each other, the pair moved toward one another and clasped hands.

Suddenly, the black haired young man jerked and his eyes widened as he looked at her.

Cordy gasped as her boyfriend stepped forward slightly then fell to the ground. A knife protruded from his lower back.

Looking up, the young woman snarled as the Maester stood there with a bloodied knife in his hand.

Taking one of the short swords Xander had given her earlier in the evening, the X5 rammed it into the chest of the grinning leader.

Then she rushed to Xander's side and knelt on the floor of the cavern, the battle forgotten for the moment.

"No!" Faith yelled as she jumped down from the balcony. She rushed to the young man's side. He had been her first friend in this godforsaken town.

"What the hell!" Zack exclaimed as he watched the women abandon the fight. He sighed heavily and pressed the miniature mic at his hear. "Team two to team one, come in. Over."

"Team one," Willow responded.

"We have a Fubar going on," he said with a deep frown as he continued to fight as best he could by himself. "Get your asses to the altar room, ASAP!"

…Count on Me…

"Will do," she responded before she spoke to Angel, "You know where that is right?"

Angel sighed heavily, "Yes, I know where that is."

"What about Amy?" Oz said.

"Once we reach the double doors, head left and bring her outside to Giles and Jonathon. Buffy, Willow and I will go assist the others."

"Alright," the young werewolf nodded and followed Angel.

Once they reached the double doors, he turned left and headed out like Angel said. Since he was by himself, he set out at a faster pace since he did not have to keep up with Willow.

Angel and Buffy pushed open the double doors and let them bang loudly against either side. Quickly assessing the situation, they realized there were about two dozen men left, this did not include the freed captives in the balconies above them.

"Willow," Buffy said as she looked up then noticed Faith over near a fallen Xander, "Help those people get outside. See if you can take Faith with you."

"What's happened to Xander?" the red head asked as she frowned.

"We'll find out, but I need you to do this for me," the blonde Slayer looked around, noticed a few ancient weapons on the walls, spear looking things. "Looks like the party started without us." She rushed to the wall and grabbed a couple of those spear things and tossed one to Angel.

"Cricket anyone?" Angel quipped as he headed into the fray and began putting his spear to good use.

Buffy used her own weapon as if born to it as she thwacked Acolyte after Acolyte as hard as she could over the head or in the shoulder and worked her way toward the center of the room near the fallen deity.

"Help me get those people outa here," Faith heard Willow in her ear.

"But, Xander," she trailed off as she looked around the room. She noticed the double whirlwinds of the vampire and her sister Slayer. She also took in the big, burly new boytoy as he took out another worshiper with his knife. She sighed heavily as she looked down at Xander cradled in Cordelia's arms and decided to help the Witch.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

…Proceed with Caution, Watch Your Back…

Battle sounds surrounded them but Cordelia Chase ignored them and her tears as she clinched her teeth. The brunette flipped the young man onto his stomach.

"Don't you die on me, Alec!" she gritted out the command.

She searched the wound and realized it was shallower than she thought; only cutting halfway through the muscle in his lower back. She knew that the healing properties in his blood were the best chance the severely wounded X5 had. She pulled a small flask of antiseptic from a pocket in her jacket and poured the whole contents onto the wound and set the bottle aside. She then pushed the skin together and pushed down to apply pressure on the clean cut. She also took note that instead of being hot like a healthy X5, the young man was rather cold to the touch.

With the sword fast in his chest, the Maester continued to die every time he revived. After the first time he had gasped, Cordelia realized that he was Immortal like Giles and only he should take care of the fanatic leader properly.

The young man in her lap struggled to either turn back over or get up, but a soothing word from the young woman stopped his movements. A slight groan from him was a small indication that he was conscious and aware of what was happening to him.

"Just try to relax," she whispered to him as she continued to apply strong pressure to the wound.

As the battle swiftly came to a close with the advent of Angel and Buffy, Zack's focus turned to the two young people on the floor of the cavern.

"We gotta get outa here," Zack said with a frown as he looked around for any other threat.

"What do we do with this thing?" Angel asked as he kicked the leader none too gently in the side.

"We take him to Giles," Cordy said with a sigh, "Let him handle it. Just don't remove the sword or he'll heal and come after us again."

The Maester tried to take another breath, but the sword forced him to sink back into death.

Angel frowned heavily as he stooped down to heft the rather large Immortal onto his shoulders mindful of the short sword still rammed to the hilt.

"So how're we going to bring Xander out of here?" Buffy asked as she knelt next to the couple. She placed a hand on her friend's shoulder and felt him shudder slightly.

The dark haired transgenic struggled and shuddered with chills as his body worked overtime to form clots in the wound. "I need to get up," he said as he struggled once more and lay still.

He grunted in pain and Buffy looked at him worriedly. "We need to get him to the hospital!" the Slayer exclaimed as she placed her hands on his back to hold him down.

"No hospitals!" all three transgenics responded automatically as she said this.

"What? Why?"

"They'll be required to report this to the police," Zack's forehead creased.

Buffy scoffed, "The Sunnydale PD couldn't find their way out of a cardboard box let alone find anything that happened to any of us interesting."

"The doctors will take his blood," Cordy began with a frown.

"No hospitals!" Xander said one more time as he cut off her words and struggled once more to rest with a pain filled grunt.

"Hush," she whispered to him and lightly tapped the back of his head with her chin. She turned dark eyes to the blonde Slayer and continued her explanation, "They'll find that his blood is enriched with stem cells. That will make them study his blood. If they do that then they'll want to study him."

"Subhuman, superhuman," Zack said with a frown, "We're all just a bunch of lab rats to doctors and scientists because of our DNA."

"What's so special about his blood?" Angel asked curiously.

"All blood interests you, Overbite," Xander quipped painfully as he struggled once more and finally rose to all fours.

"Shut up," his girlfriend said as she continued to apply pressure to his back. "Our blood regenerates nerve and muscle tissue and prevents us from dieing from most wounds that would kill ordinaries."

"Its to make us better soldiers in the field," the black haired transgenic said after a deep breath.

Cordelia frowned as she studied the young man intently.

"Help me up," Xander said in a low tone of voice.

Buffy quickly grabbed him by the shoulder and helped him to his feet.

As he listed to the argument, Zack moved forward to support him on the other side. The big blond was secretly impressed by the other X5's tenacity and stubbornness.

Angel led the way as the others supported a struggling, stubborn Xander out of the labyrinth of caverns at a much slower pace.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

…Unfinished Business…

Angel, Immortal slung across his broad shoulders like a sack of potatoes, led the way through the cavern tunnels.

Buffy and Zack were behind him as they gave support to a stumbling Xander.

"Stop, guys," Cordelia said suddenly as she was in the rear of the small group.

The others stopped and she moved her hand away from her boyfriend's wound to check it. Even though the tissues had rudimentarily fused together, there was still a small bit of blood seeping through.

"I'll feel more comfortable when we can get somewhere to either put stitches or cauterize the wound," she said clinically. She also checked his temperature, and even though he was still chilly, the transgenic was sweating.

"Cauterize?" Buffy said with a grimace.

"Since…" Xander sounded winded as he spoke, "…since we heal faster than ordinaries, not Slayer fast, it's always better to cauterize a wound to minimize blood loss. Our bodies have natural immunities to infection and disease."

"What good will that do you if you're dead?" Angel asked as he turned to the others.

"It takes a lot more than a stabbing and blood loss to kill us," Cordelia said quietly.

"If," Xander began with a pained breath, "If in the field, one of our members is injured… if we have the equipment to transfuse, we keep movin', do what we gotta do and keep going through the pain."

Zack frowned as he looked at the black haired X5, "What the shit is all that about? I've never heard anything about this."

"Gee…" the wounded young man sounded bitter, "I wonder why you don't know. Hmn, let me think…" he said sarcastically. "Perhaps it's because you twelve ran away and abandoned your mission while we stayed and got punished for it!"

"Xander," Cordy said as she placed a hand on his arm.

"No, Cor," Xander weakly failed to shrug her off, "They used body parts from other X5s when we needed medical treatment."

"We didn't know there was anyone else," Zack protested with a deep frown on his handsome face.

The black haired young man spared a glare for the big blond transgenic, "All of us twins spent six months in psyops cause of your escape for them to see if it wasn't genetic. Then another four months in reindoctrination. Then, when Brother Benny went psycho, I spent another six months in psyops. I can honestly say that was not a walk in the park." By the end of his small speech, he was breathing heavy and the wound was seeping a little more blood than Cordelia liked.

"Come on, we've gotta get out of here," she said as she mashed her already blood soaked hand down onto Xander's back one more time. "Blah, blah, I've heard it all before," she tried to joke.

"Sorry, Cor," the young man whispered to her as he began to walk, more like stumble, once more down the corridor.

…Something Wicked…

Finally, they reached the darkness outside and were blasted with cool air.

Jonathon Levinson excitedly rushed forward, but Giles, for some reason, stood back, cautious.

They noticed that Oz, Willow and Faith were further down the way with the freed captives and paramedics treating the injured while the police were taking statements.

As the group of hunters reached the van, Xander grunted and toppled forward. He would have fallen if not for the others who quickly supported him.

The May Queen dodged around to the front of him, "Xand?"

He blinked tiredly at her as though he were going to pass out.

She brushed a hand lightly down the side of his face, "Xan!"

"I'm still with you," he said with a slight smirk.

"What is going on?" Giles asked cautiously as Angel plunked the Maester, sword still embedded in his chest, down at the Watcher's feet.

"Cordy, please," Buffy said as she let the brunette change places with her.

It was not long before the police and paramedics left with those that had been freed.

Then Oz and Faith hiked their way back to the group while Willow went to the hospital in the ambulance with Amy.

The blonde Slayer looked around to make sure no outsiders were around any longer. She then moved over to her watcher and gave a slight smirk, "I come bearing gifts."

With a swift movement, the Slayer extracted the blade from the Immortal fanatic's chest.

Almost instantly, the scarlet robed man revived as he inhaled loudly and quickly moved to a seated position. He sensed another Immortal and looked around until he found the tweed suited older looking man. He growled.

Giles, sword still in hand, embedded the blade deeply into the other Immortal's gut in surprised reflex, and hauled the blade out violently. He grabbed the other by the shoulder to keep him still as he cleaved the head off in a single blow.

Buffy gasped at the violence inherent in her Watcher.

Giles frowned as he threw his own sword to the ground and told the others to remain where they were. He walked away from them rather quickly before the Quickening could take hold of him.

The others watched in different degrees of shock and interest as Giles sank to his knees.

A sudden wind blew around and stirred their clothing and hair as they continued to watch.

A blue glow rose up from the finally deceased Maester and rushed toward the Watcher with the force and speed of a bullet train.

As lightning bolt after lightning bolt struck the Immortal, Giles screamed and shook violently with each blow.

Cordelia frowned as she watched the Quickening. It seemed to last longer than the last time she witnessed one of these.

Finally, after a long, seemingly painful bout of the shakes, Giles stopped shaking and the Quickening faded.

The hunters looked at their mentor then at each other.

"I don't know which is worse," Xander observed, still out of breath. "My seizures or what he goes through."

Cordelia got Buffy to help Xander into Oz's van then moved to help the Watcher. "You okay, Giles?"

He looked up at her and frowned. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

She helped him up and supported him as they walked back to the werewolf's vehicle. "Don't worry about it, Giles," she replied as she pushed him into a seat. "Do you know where we can go to stitch Xander's wound?"

"Xander was injured?" Giles asked as he sat up and looked over to the young man further in the back.

"Yes, G-man," Xander said as he looked at the Librarian tiredly, "Unfortunately, I don't have your fast healing ability to take care of it."

The Watcher gave a half smile as he sat back in the seat, "Just head to my house, Daniel."

"Will do, Giles," the musician said as his van rumbled down the road.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

...Invisible...

They reached Giles' small shotgun house in thirty minutes.

As soon as everyone piled out of the car, Faith moved away from the others and immediately threw up into the grass.

Seeing her sister Slayer physically ill, Buffy moved to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked with a frown.

Faith frowned as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "I just killed I don't know how many humans and you want to know if I'm okay? Of course I'm not okay, B!" she shoved the blonde's hand off her shoulder and rushed over to help Giles who looked weak from his own ordeal.

Fumbling, the Watcher tried unsuccessfully to put the key into the door.

Faith took the key from him and opened the lock then she pushed the door open.

Since Angel did not have an invite to Giles' house, the ensouled vampire made his leave of the group and said goodbye to Buffy.

The rest of the group entered the small house and just barely had enough room to move around the front room.

Jonathon, Faith, Buffy and Oz crowded into the kitchen also and Giles ushered them back into the front room.

"I need room to work, why don't you sit and relax while waiting," he suggested. "Or go see how Amy is at the hospital."

Oz and Faith decided to head to the hospital. Willow was there alone, and they both preferred her to have someone with her and to see for themselves that the young Wicca was alright.

Jonathon decided to head home for the night since the evening was winding down, he would visit his girlfriend in the morning and stay with her as long as the nurses did not throw him out.

Buffy sat on the sofa and waited impatiently for her Xander shaped friend.

"Cordelia and Zack, please put him face down on the table in the kitchen," Giles said as he stumbled into the bedroom in the back of the small house. He pulled some clothes from his closet then moved into the bathroom. He took a quick, five minute shower to get the grime and gore off of his body and sterilize his hands for the immediate future.

When the Immortal came back he was carrying a large tackle box, the master fisherman kind that he purchased at Wal-Mart.

"We're not going fishing, G-man," Xander quipped with a smirk as he saw the blue, gray and black box the older man brought into the room.

"This is my first aide kit," the Immortal said with a frown, "Who do you think tends to Buffy's wounds when she can't reach them?"

"You know how it is…" Xander trailed off as he watched the older man as he washed his hands in the kitchen sink.

"Cordelia, a pair of surgical gloves from the bottom compartment, please," he said as he held his hands up and flung them a couple of times to remove the excess water.

Being delegated to nurse was a good thing in her opinion, because then she could keep an eye on her boyfriend. Even though she trusted Giles, any kind of medical procedures performed on transgenics always made them uncomfortable.

Zack watched quietly from where he leaned on the counter.

"Scrub in the sink, dear, as I'll need you to hand things to me," Giles said as he looked at the contents of the open container. "Zack, could you please remove his shirt?"

The big blond gave a huge sigh as he moved to comply with the ordinary.

After the young woman washed her hands she slipped on a pair of latex gloves and moved over to help.

"Take a package of betadine wash and wash the wound and the area where I'll be working, please," he instructed as he showed her the packets.

As she washed the site, Giles lay out prepackaged sutures and thread on a clean layer of paper towels. He also took out a prepackaged syringe filled with some clear liquid.

As he worked, the Watcher explained exactly what he was doing so that they had no doubt in their minds that everything was alright, he understood completely how Xander and Cordelia felt about doctors.

The Watcher opened the packages very carefully and each instrument remained in its package for future use.

First, he pulled the syringe and uncapped it, "Xander, I am going to inject the area with a local anesthetic."

As he brought his hand closer, Cordelia grabbed his hand and had a questioning light in her eye. All of the transgenics were uncomfortable with needles.

"I don't want to hurt him more than I have to and Articaine is going to help me achieve that goal. I'm sorry that I have to do this at all." He sighed heavily as he gazed into her eyes.

She frowned but released him.

They heard the television from the front room.

"Zack, could you please close the door between this room and the other?"

The big blond frowned as he did the ordinary's, well not so ordinary, bidding one more time.

"This will only sting a moment," Giles said as he injected the anesthetic into the wound. He even spared a moment to inject deeper into the cut muscle under the integument.

Gritting his teeth, Xander clinched the table with a white knuckle grip.

As the fluid was injected into the black haired young man's lower back, the flesh puckered up and swelled slightly.

Given a minute to sit through the pain, Xander sighed in relief as pain bled away to numbness.

He palpated the area to see how deep the sword had gone, but nodded when he realized that the wound only hit the first layer of muscles. "Good," Giles said more to himself than the others.

"Now," he explained, "I'm going to use stitches on the muscle, these will dissolve once the tissues have a chance to heal properly."

He pulled fine, filament thin sutures from his small assortment with tiny needles attached and began to stitch the muscle. "Since you do heal faster than mortals, I will only use five stitches in this area."

Cordelia and Zack watched curiously as the Watcher worked expertly to stitch Xander's wound closed.

"Cordelia, would you please cut here," he said as he indicated the end near the perfect, tiny knot.

She did as he requested and Giles tossed the tail end of the suture into the trashcan.

He then used a mess of gauze to clean the area, by now there was hardly any blood.

"Alright," the Englishman said as he stretched. "The next part looks like it will take nine stitches."

"How do you know about all of this?" the May Queen asked as she looked up at him.

"I was a doctor at one point in my life," Giles said as he leaned over once more and pulled out a suture slightly larger than the last.

Conversationally, Giles spoke as he worked to close the wound, "You're quite lucky, Xander. Your wound runs horizontally along the eleventh dermatome."

Zack frowned as he looked at the Watcher in confusion, but he realized that the other two transgenics knew exactly what the old man meant.

"That means there'll be minimal scarring," Xander said with a shrug. "I could always get a tat to cover it."

"As if you don't have enough troubles with the one," Zack said quietly from his spot near the counter.

"What do you mean?" Cordelia questioned as she looked up at him.

"You know if Manticore sees the barcode, they'll haul him in…"

"There is no Manticore here, Brother Zack," the black haired X5 said as he turned his head to look at him.

Zack smirked, "Come on, I know that's a lie."

"Did you look them up on that infernal machine?" Giles asked as he too looked over at the tall young man.

"What?"

"The computer," both of the other X5's translated for the Watcher.

"No," the big blond's brow creased as he looked at them.

"I'll let you look them up later when we get home," Xander said with a smirk. "Hurry up G-man, I'm starting to feel something."

"I figured you would by now," Giles said as he sewed two more stitched and tied off. "Cordelia, please."

The brunette moved to his side and used the scissors once more to cut the filament.

Giles finished cleaning up the area of the wound, then added one final touch after he bandaged the wound. He placed a small square of neoprene-like cloth over the wound, "This is an Elastomag. Use it."

"A what?" Xander said as he turned his head trying to see what the Watcher had put on him.

"A magnet," the Watcher confirmed, "And make sure that you eat something, preferably protein to replenish your blood supply.

"Yes, Doctor," Xander teased as he held the magnet on the wound and stood.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

…On My Way Home...

Not minding one bit, Xander walked home shirtless followed by the other teens who had been at Giles' house along with Zack.

Buffy was still concerned that he might pass out, but the transgenic surprised her. "You sure you're alright?" the blonde Slayer asked for the fifth time.

Xander smiled slightly as he looked at her in suspicion. 'We've been fighting all this time and now you're gonna play nice?' He shrugged as he went along with it, "Buffy, for the umpteenth time, I'm fine."

"I just wanna make sure," she said with a frown. They were not alright yet, but she did feel guilty for his injury. She felt as though, if she would have been there, she could have prevented him from getting stabbed.

"Buffy, don't you have anything else better to do?" Cordelia asked in exasperation as she rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm good," the blonde said in a perky tone as she led the way.

Any demons or peaceful vampires making their way home that night stuck to the far reaches of the area when they realized the Slayer was around. They knew that the young human who lived in their apartment complex was alright with them as long as they abided by his testament, but the Slayer was a wildcard. It made them nervous.

Hearing the muffled sounds of the television, Xander knew that Clem was inside. "You sure you wanna come inside, Buff? Its just us, not much is going to happen other than me crashing for a few hours while Cordy and Zack look stuff up on the computer." He glanced at his watch, "It'll be dawn in about an hour; don't you need to be home before she knows you've been gone all night?"

Buffy frowned as she looked at him and pulled the hand with the watch on it so she could see the time. "Gosh, I didn't realize it was so late," the Slayer sounded aggravated with herself, "I'll see you guys in school." She turned and headed out at a run.

Xander gave a sigh of relief as he pushed the door open and entered his apartment. He asked his girlfriend to help him with his boots and they worked quickly, efficiently to get the job done.

Cordelia and Zack moved to remove their own boots before they moved to the interior of the apartment.

"Hey, guys," Clem said with a smile as he turned the television off. "Rough night?"

"You know it," Xander said as he moved into his room to grab his state of the art computer. He walked back into the main room clutching the laptop.

Cordelia watched as the black haired young man removed several ancient text from the desk near the window and placed his laptop on the flat surface. Her eyes widened as the X5 removed the monitor completely from the unit and repositioned it so that it looked like a normal notebook computer.

"Where the heck did you get that?" she exclaimed as she moved closer and examined the machine in fascination.

That self-satisfied smirk stole onto Xander's face as he watched his girlfriend ogle the choice piece of hardware. "You like?"

"Hell yeah!"

"I commandeered this nice little piece from EAFB a few months ago."

She blinked at him and pouted, "Without me?"

Zack frowned as the couple kissed.

"I'll get you one for your birthday," the black haired young man said with a contented sigh.

Cordy smiled as she hugged him.

They pulled apart and Xander continued to work on the laptop as he plugged the computer into the wall to give the battery a rest. He frowned as he plugged in the connection for the phone, he remembered Wi-Fi Connections and that was one of the things on his top ten things of what he missed the most about the year 2022.

This was the first time that Zack really had a chance to study his surroundings. Looking around, he noticed that this place was nothing like he knew a town in America should look like. He had noticed that the town was too clean, it was not littered with detritus and garbage, homeless did not live on the streets and no buildings were derelict.

"How did this town survive the Pulse in tact?" he asked quietly.

Clem looked at him curiously and tilted his head to one side. "Pulse," he said in confusion, "What pulse?" The shar pei-looking demon looked over to Xander and Cordelia hoping they would explain.

Cordelia looked over at the big X5 for a long, silent moment then looked at Xander.

Clem made it a point to stay out of the way as he watched the three curiously.

The pair looked as though they were having a silent conversation with no sign language and no overly obvious body language.

"Zack," the young woman said as she guided him to take a seat in front of the computer.

He remained standing as he looked at her.

She sighed as she continued, "This is the year 1999. The Pulse hasn't happened."

"No…" the big blonde shook his head as he backed away from them.

"Most likely," Cordelia said quietly from where she stood near the computer, "The Pulse won't happen here."

...The Age of Not Believing...

Xander moved forward and raised his hands up toward the other transgenic pleading, "We told you that a spell took over and turned us into our costumes."

The back of Zack's knees hit the sofa and he stumbled into a seated position. He stared up at the black haired young man, wide-eyed.

Xander took a small, subtle fighting stance in case the other transgenic got violent. He swallowed and continued, "Last year's Halloween, the young woman you know as Max and I hated one another with a passion. We fought like cats… Snyder forced us to take children around for Halloween safety. I went as a soldier, Willow went as a ghost and Buffy went as a 17th century noble. We didn't expect Giles' ex-demon worshiping buddy to turn us into our costumes, but he did. The only one who knew who we were was Willow. Anyway, I became X5-494, I felt this unbearable pain in the back of my neck and all of a sudden I was here. Didn't know what the hell was going on, but Willow found me and stuck with me until she brought the noble and me to Buffy's house. Buffy, by the way, was helpless as a noble and didn't know what was going on." He smirked slightly at that last bit.

Cordelia had moved over to sit next to Zack on the sofa, "I definitely hated Xander back then, I mean he was unpopular, a slacker and not simple minded."

"Thanks," the black haired young man said.

She smiled slightly at him and continued, "I was originally supposed to go as a cat, I had the leopard print cat suit, ears and tail, but I found this," she touched the shoulder of the black leather she was wearing, "in the shop window at Ethan's and couldn't pass it up. When the spell hit, I felt the same thing, instant pain in my barcode. I didn't think anything of it, just continued on my way until I heard a growl. At first I thought it was Joshua…" she trailed off and frowned.

Xander frowned as he took his girlfriend's hand, "I miss him too, Cor."

"Joshua?" Zack looked at her as he tried to distract her from the byplay.

Cordy snapped out of her reverie and turned to Zack, "Joshua was a friend. He was the first of our kind."

Zack looked at both of them; there were similar melancholy expressions on their faces.

The black haired young man sighed wistfully, "He had no barcode, but he looked like a cross between a human and a bloodhound, guess he had too much canine in his cocktail." Dark eyes fell on Clem for a long moment, "I guess in some weird way you remind me of him."

Clem smiled that friendly, open smile he had and nodded.

"A Nomlie?" Zack inquired.

The other X5s got horrified looks on their faces as they glared at the big blonde.

"We prefer the term transhuman, or genetically empowered," Xander said in a hard tone as he defended his friends Mole, Joshua, Luke, Dix and the others.

"Anyway," the May Queen rolled her eyes as she shook out of her melancholy thoughts. "I turned around and noticed Chewbacca charging at me. I swear it looked like a ten foot Wookie and I thought, 'What the hell's a Wookie doing in Seattle'?" She shrugged, "That's when Alec, or Xander I should say, saved me and brought me into the Slayer's house."

The couple looked into one another's eyes for a long, intense moment before their attentions snapped back to Zack.

"After the spell was over," Xander said as he moved slightly into a more threatening posture, "Cor and I remembered everything. For some reason, our abilities remained and…" he turned around to reveal X5-494's barcode high on his neck. "As you know, it's impossible to remove, hurts like a son of a bitch when you try to laser it off."

"But how can it be 1999?" Zack asked as he stared at the evidence that the young man before him was, in fact, a transgenic.

Cordelia shrugged, "This is a Hellmouth…"

"A what?"

Xander looked over at the demon and had a questioning light in his eye.

Clem sighed as he cleared his throat loudly, stood from his chair and moved over to them, "La boca del inferno. The Hellmouth. Hellmouths are places of increased supernatural energy. This is a buffer zone in which dimensions are weak. The Hellmouth is a portal between earth and the Underworld. For this reason, it attracts demons and other supernatural creatures and is a hot spot for supernatural activity."

Zack's eyebrows rose as he looked at Clem for a long, silent moment.

"The Hellmouth," Xander said with a sigh, "is a center of mystical convergence. Basically, everything you've ever been told that doesn't exist does, and it's here. Vampires, werewolves, witches, demon, ghosts, the restless undead… Manticore has nothing on this town."


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

…Come Away With Me…

Zack sighed as he sat out in the courtyard of Xander's apartment. His head was turned and he watched as a funky looking female(?) demon argued with three smaller demons (children?).

'This is like the Twilight Zone on crack,' he thought to himself as he frowned in disgust.

Cordelia opened the door and found her big brother seated on the ground. "Hey, you up for company?" she asked as she closed the door.

Xander had finally passed out on his bed. She had made sure he was comfortable before she left to find Zack.

"Yeah," he said as he scooted over.

"Hey, Mrs. Gagarin, coming in for the day?" she called past the young man next to her.

The demon smiled, or what equated a smile for her race, and gave an odd, nodding salute. "Good morning, youngling, yes I am," the gravelly, three toned voice grated on their sensitive ears even though she spoke gently.

"Good morning," the young woman responded as she looked at the three preteen Tenino demons. "Your clutch looks rather healthy," she said conversationally.

The mother nodded proudly, more like a full bodied bow, "Thank you." The mother looked around the courtyard before she ushered the children into their apartment to stay away from the sunlight.

Cordelia smiled as she watched monster and children enter their home.

She turned to Zack and realized he had been watching her the whole time. "What?"

"You know that the night we all escaped you put your life in my hands," he said with a frown.

She rolled her eyes, "We've discussed this before, I'm not leaving."

Zack sighed, "It's not safe here, Max."

"My name is Cordelia Chase, call me Cordelia or Cordy," she said as she cut him off and for emphasis used a cutting motion.

"Come with me," Zack said, "If there's no Manticore then we can go anywhere. We don't even have to split up."

The brunette gave a long suffering sigh as she looked at him.

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not leaving."

"Cordelia," the name left a sour taste in his mouth, "you'd be safer with me."

The young woman hung her head, "Zack, I have family here."

"Xander? He's a soldier, so are you. You don't have to rely on him. You know the only person you can rely on is yourself."

"Phony sentimentality…" Cordelia cut into what he was saying. "There's not just him to think of… my parents live here."

"Parents?" the blond's blue eyes glared into her brown eyes, "What the hell?"

"I have a mother and a father: Noble and Veronica Chase," she said as she looked at him not intimidated by the glare. "My dad has four brothers: David, Jason, Richard and James; and my mom has a sister, Clara Harrington in Betty Ford."

Zack snarled in disgust, "Ordinaries."

"That they may be," she argued, "But they're still my family. And Xander… he's got a mom and dad: Jessica and Tony Harris, they may not be the best but they're still his folks. And his Uncle Rory lives over in Oxnard. Before Halloween, Xander and I were ordinaries, with ordinary lives and not so ordinary problems. Xander's been down with the supernatural for two years, I've been running with them for one. Don't call my reasons for staying phony sentimentality."

"Come with me, Max," Zack said quietly, the young woman recognized the threat in his voice.

"No, and call me Cordy," she said firmly, "You can stay here, you don't have to run. There is no Manticore, no Lypecker and no Breeding Cult."

"Staying here risks tactical exposure," the young man said with a frown.

"Tactical exposure to what?" she questioned. "The Sunnydale PD? They're an incompetent joke if I ever saw one. Tactical exposure to demons? They think we're another form of demon so they could care less, and they leave us alone. Tactical exposure to Giles? He's a Watcher, he has no secrets that Xander and I haven't already uncovered… we knew a long time ago that he was an Immortal, and we know about his checkered past. When I tell you there's no Manticore I mean it… and there was no Manticore in 2021 when I blew up the base."

Suddenly, the pair heard thunder and lightning.

"We'd better get inside," the young woman suggested since Xander's door opened out into the courtyard.

Zack helped Cordy to stand and pulled her into a hug.

She accepted the hug but became uncomfortable when he leaned forward to kiss her.

She pulled away from him.

"I'm just so worried about you," the blond said as he tried again to kiss her.

"No," Cordelia said as she pushed his chest hard enough to make him back up a step. "We are not like that, never were," she said as she remembered how Zack was after he had been freed from Manticore.

"I love you," he said as he frowned when she stepped away from him.

"I may love you," Cordelia's tone hardened, "But you are my brother, I will always see you as a brother. If you can't accept that, then maybe you should leave. And, I'm committed to Xander." She opened the door and stepped inside; she closed the door but did not lock it. It was his decision to stay or leave.

As Zack opened the door, he noticed Xander standing in his way.

...Should He Stay or Should He Go?...

Xander remained silent as he stepped out into the courtyard.

Zack looked at the other transgenic with a deep frown. "Listening at doors?" he accused.

"No," the young man said as he looked at the taller X5, eyes hooded as he tilted his head down slightly in a predator's threat. "I was not, but I do remember the last time you tried that with her. I didn't need to listen to know what was going on."

"So, here to tell me to stay away from your girl?" the big blond smirked.

"If I had to do that, she wouldn't be my girl," he said with a smirk of his own. "Cordelia can take care of herself."

"So what the hell is this about then?" the blond snapped.

"There is no mission anymore, Brother Zack," Xander said darkly. "Manticore was destroyed more effectively than what she and I could have done in 2022."

"Why should I believe either of you if this really is 1999," Zack snarled. "If she is really this Cordelia she claims to be."

Remaining calm, Xander said, "Don't take our word for it. Go out into the world and see for yourself. You'll find plenty of things out there that you won't understand."

"Yeah," the blond smirked, "Like what?"

"No severe poverty, there is poverty but not like there was in a post-Pulse America. Electricity has none of the quirky problems it did at home. And everything is about 23 years outdated."

Zack gave the other young man a hard glare but noticed the young man's attention was over the blond's shoulder.

Zack turned and noticed a young man in t-shirt and jeans. He carried a sack with neatly folded newspapers.

"Mr. Harris, your paper," the young man said.

Xander smiled as he took it from the young 'man' covered in green and black spikes, "I've told you to call me Xander, Timmy."

"I know, Mr. Harris," the Brachen demon said with a smile, "but mum always said to respect your elders."

"Thanks, Tim," Xander said with a smile as the young demon thrust the newspaper at him, "Hurry home before it rains."

"Yes, sir," the teen said respectfully as he rushed toward another apartment door.

"What do you want me to do with this," Zack asked with a frown.

"We can't lie about everything," Xander said as he entered the apartment as the first drops of rain fell from the sky. He left the door open.

The older transgenic followed the black haired young man into the apartment and closed the door.

Xander went back to his room to crash while Zack opened the crisp, brand new newspaper out onto the breakfast bar to read the current events of February 1999.


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

…This Day…

Zack read the Sunnydale Sun Times that day. He had first examined the paper thoroughly, it did not seem as though it had been tampered with.

The front page displayed the date in black and white.

He read the first article:

"February 13, 1999

"CHASE Foundation Commits More Than $1 Million

"Los Angeles, CA – The Chase Foundation is committing more than $1-million to improve Internet governance, including several major initiatives designed to make the Internet's first international oversight body, more accountable to all users of the Internet, it was announced in a statement today by Noble Chase, President of the Chase Foundation.

"After a year of initial activities, the first elected Board of Directors of LACAE (Los Angeles Corporation for American Education) is now being selected; nine of the 15 Directors have already been elected by three supporting organizations representing technical and commercial interests. Users of the Internet at large will elect an additional six Directors, and Chase is helping to ensure that this election process is fair and credible.

"Chase's first initiative – a $200,000 grant directly to LACAE to initiate this process-will enable the organization to hire staff, conduct outreach (including easy-to-understand educational materials), create technical mechanisms for global voting, translate key documents into several major languages for the benefit of all potential LACAE members worldwide, and initiate the voting process.

"Mr. Chase also announced that he has enlisted the support of, and is providing funds for efforts by, Mayor Richard Wilkins III, the American Library Association and other organizations from around the world to help establish the election process, to reach out to Internet users, and to monitor the elections. These efforts are designed to encourage the greatest participation by the broadest geographic base of individuals and non-commercial users.

"Mr. Chase said, "Global institutions are beginning to oversee Internet activities. The decisions they make will determine whether the Internet achieves its potential as a powerful weapon for democratic values and aspirations. Management of the Internet by a private entity will not be stable or legitimate if that entity does not adequately include the public voice. So it is essential that LACAE – which is establishing rules that impact individuals and organizations alike – be accountable to all Internet users everywhere. Specifically, that means building a legitimate way for individuals to vote and create an authority they can trust. We are bringing in experts who can make this happen."

He stopped reading as he realized that the Mr. Chase in the foundation was, in fact, Max, actually Cordelia's father. He flipped through several pages and found an article on the local college.

"Sunnydale University had open enrollment for summer semester 2000. Enrollment would be from March 1 through March 22, 1999. A "Benefits Information Day" had been scheduled for Friday, February 13, 1999, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Wilkins Memorial Conference Room. Representatives would be available to advise students and answer questions."

He flipped through and read more articles… Something about a war brewing, possibly in Iraq… 'is this about Desert Storm?' he wondered to himself.

"Weekly, sometimes daily, bombings of Iraqi targets within the northern no-fly zone are being carried out by U.S. and British bombers. More than 25 air strikes have take place thus far, and have continued regularly since January. The U.S. and Britain hope the constant barrage of air strikes will weaken Saddam Hussein's grip on Iraq."

He frowned as he turned to the obituaries. For such a small town, there was a LOT of people who turned up dead. 'What the hell?' he thought to himself. Most of the people reported as deceased in the paper were young people with very strange causes of death: "attacked by Gangs on PCP with barbecue forks" seemed to be the most common reason.

Zack lifted his head. He noticed, 'was he really going to think of her as someone else?' Cordelia where she sat at Xander's computer.

He moved from the breakfast bar to stand behind her and looked at what she was scrolling through.

The young woman was looking at a picture of a pendant or a necklace under the heading of Anyanka, patron of scorned women and vengeance demon. Under the subheading, Cordelia read aloud in a quiet voice, "Anyanka raised a demon to ruin her unfaithful lover. The demon did her bidding – but then cursed her and turned her into a sort of patron saint for scorned women. Apparently the cry of a wronged woman is like a siren's call to Anyanka."

"What is that?" Zack asked.

Startled, the brunette spun around and looked up at him, startled. She gasped and a hand flew to her mouth.

She rushed into her boyfriend's room to wake him.

"What?" the blond said as he followed her with his eyes.

…Revelations…

Careful to shake him on his uninjured side, Cordelia woke Xander.

Zack had followed her to the door and watched them curiously.

"Mole put aftershave lotion in your mouthwash again?" the young man mumbled sleepily.

"Shut up, Xander, I need you to wake up," she said as she pulled him to a seated position.

"What, Cor? Go get some beauty sleep, I'm sure the Prom Queen needs it," he said sleepily as he looked up at her, bleary eyed.

"Damnit, Xander, I'm trying to be serious."

"I'm trying to sleep, which is what Dr. Spock told me to do," he said as he tried to lay back down, but the brunette would not let him.

"In your computer, you have this file on demons and stuff…" she hedged.

"Tobin's Spirit Guide," he mumbled, "Yeah, what about it?"

"Ghostbusters?" the May Queen exclaimed.

The black haired young man smirked, "Affectionately name after the guide in the movie, yeah. What of it?"

"Is it really real stuff?" she asked as the young man ran a hand over his barcode.

"Yeah," he said tiredly as he yawned. "I'm working on a compilation for Giles, once I'm done I'm gonna transfer it over to the computer in his office. If he ever uses the damned thing, it will have every demon, ghost, vampire, etc. we've encountered and then some… he'll be able to cross reference things like… Flesh eating demons, Skin eating demons, Egg laying demons, the 31 flavors of Lycanthropes, Vampires, Ghosts, Cults that try to open the Hellmouth, etc.."

"Is this what you do in your spare time?" she questioned.

Xander nodded as he rose from the bed.

"You are such a geek," she said with a funny little smile on her face.

"Coward!" he said with a smirk.

"Moron!" a similar smirk appeared on her own face.

"I love you," he said in a whisper.

"I love you," she said in an equally low tone of voice.

They both shared a look before they burst into laughter before they kissed.

"You gonna help me with my shirt?" Xander asked as he grabbed one of his old, flowing button-up shirts, that he never wore anymore, so that it would not grate on his wound.

"Sure," she said as she moved in to help him.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

…Deliverance…

Xander exited Cordelia's car and pulled his set of keys from a belt loop on his jeans.

Zack flanked them as he kept an eye out for hostiles.

Xander moved to the front door to Giles' shotgun house and unlocked it.

"You have a key to his place?" Cordelia asked as she eyed him curiously.

The young man shrugged, "As you know," the young man explained almost too quietly, "My home life was unsatisfactory. Recently he gave me a key, said if I ever needed a place to crash that I was more than welcome."

He stepped through the threshold. "G-Man?" he called.

There was a crashing noise from the back of the small house and the three quickly moved to investigate.

As they walked further through the shotgun house, the young transgenics saw the door to the Immortal's bedroom crash open, and almost immediately, Giles thundered through the kitchen a bag in hand.

"What's going on?" Xander asked as he stumbled painfully out of the older man's way.

"Giles!" Cordy exclaimed as she stumbled into Zack who steadied her.

"I'm sorry, children," the Watcher sounded sad as he continued to pack. He pulled the first aid kit from where he had left it earlier and put it back where it normally stayed. He placed his bag near the front door. "I'm headed out of town for a short period of time."

"What happened?" Cordelia asked with a frown.

Zack watched the interaction quietly, jealousy in his heart at the obvious closeness between the three.

"One of my friends has gone off radar, and Cyrus and I are going to track him down."

"One of us should go with," Xander said as he looked over at his girlfriend.

"I'll not take you away from your duties and responsibilities, Xander," Giles said with a frown.

"But, Giles, we need you," Cordy said and uncharacteristically thrust herself at him and hugged him tightly.

Giles had to drop the sheathed sword in his hands and steadied them both before they toppled to the ground.

"My precious child," Giles said into her hair, "I'll not be gone long. My friend Cyrus called again and said he was unable to find Daniel, and he's been looking for the whelp since the 80s."

Xander moved to their position and embraced his friends in a group hug. It may have been weird, but he took in the older man's scent as he breathed deep. "G-man, come back to us, or I'll find a way to resurrect your ass and then I'll kill you myself."

Giles smiled sadly, as one of his arms came around the young man he thought of as a son. "I'll be back, son, even if it is my spirit."

"I still think you should take one of us with you," Xander said as they broke the hug and he stepped back.

They watched the Immortal continue to pack.

"I'll not let you skip school," Giles said sternly.

"I'll go with you," Zack said quietly, "I don't have any obligations other than to Max."

"Cordy," the young woman corrected.

Zack frowned as he turned to her, "I see you as Max. To me, you'll always be Max."

"If you come with me," the Englishman said sternly as he eyed the big blonde, "will you have a problem following my lead?"

Zack looked at the ordinary, or not so ordinary, "I followed orders until I was ten years old. I've been on my own for about eleven years. You're not Lydecker, so I think I'd be alright with your orders."

"Alright then," Giles said as he put a hand out.

Zack took it and shook once, twice, then released the older man's hand.

"Welcome to the Scoobies," Xander said as he clasped Zack on the shoulder.

"Is there anything you'll need before we leave?" Giles asked the big transgenic.

"My only belongings are the clothes I'm wearing," Zack said with a frown.

Xander frowned as he pulled a bottle out of his pocket and tossed it at Zack who easily caught it. "You're gonna need them."

Zack read the script on the pill bottle, "Tryptophan." He smirked at the other transgenics.

"It's not off the market currently," Xander explained, "so we have a source who supplies it at cost."

"Thanks, Alec," Zack said with a smirk.

"Its Xander," the black haired young man corrected with a frown.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Zack needled.

"Alright," Giles interrupted, "We'd better get going if we're going to meet Cyrus in Cleveland."

Xander and Cordelia followed Giles and Zack out to the Citroen. With the clunker packed, the pair got into the car and Giles started the engine.

"Be careful, G-man," Xander said as he clasped his mentor's hand in a firm grip. "Zack, keep an eye on this old fart, and bring him back in one piece." He waved at the other transgenic through Giles' window.

Cordy slapped the back of Xander's head before she moved to the passenger side window to clasp Zack's hand. "By, big brother, don't get into too much trouble while you're gone."

"I won't, sister," the blond said with a half smile, "Keep soldier boy in line so that when I come back, I don't have to bust his skull in and knock some sense into him.

"I guess Wesley Wyndham-Wimp will be Head Boy in your stead?" Xander asked the Immortal. The groups tried to work without him as much as possible since he came on the scene. The newest Watcher seemed incompetent and they did not want to get him killed.

"Of course not," Giles protested, "I'm leaving Pierson in charge of the library as soon as he gets back from his trip."

Xander nodded, pleased, "Stay safe, guys."

The Citroen pulled out of the drive way and headed out of town.

Xander and Cordelia headed back to his apartment, so that the young man could continue his healing rest.

…Welcome to the Hellmouth…

A black GMC Sierra truck turned over the railroad tracks into the south side of Sunnydale. Turning down two more streets, it turned left onto Darry Row and stopped in front of the fifth house on the left.

A middle aged man with black hair and in excellent condition for a man his age got out of the truck, made sure there was a pistol in the waste band of his jeans, slammed the door and made his way up the walkway to the two story house.

He stood at the front door for a long moment before he raised a hand and knocked.

Not long after, the door opened to reveal Jessica Harris. She looked at the man in front of her for a long moment before she pulled the door open wider and gave a silent invitation. One could never be too careful in Sunnydale.

The black haired man stepped into the house and eyed the woman curiously. "What is this all about?" he asked her gruffly.

"Its about your son," she said as she grabbed a picture off of a side table and held it toward herself.

"My sons have never been to this town," he protested as he eyed her suspiciously.

"Not your other sons," Jessica corrected as she handed him the photo still face away from him. "Our son... Alexander."

The man looked town at the frame and turned the picture over. He then gasped; it was almost like looking into a mirror of the past.

The young man smiling up at him from the photograph had his mother's eyebrows and lips that was where his likeness to her stopped. The rest was all the man standing in Jessica Harris' foyer. Black hair, dark, nearly black eyes, same nose, same chin, nearly everything was the same. Although, the young man in the photograph was leaner, and tanner than he had been at that age, the man's DNA stamp was unquestionable.

The black haired man looked up at Jessica in question, "Where is your husband? He raised the boy up until now..."

She shook her head, "I kicked him out. He was..." it was difficult for her to admit, "abusive."

"Where is the boy?" he asked as he handed the photograph back to her.

"I don't know," Jessica said as she handed him a scrap of paper. "That's his cell phone number."

He took the scrap and memorized the number before he handed it back to her. "What happened that he took off?" he questioned.

"Something happened last year during Halloween," Jessica said with a frown and a shrug. "And then, earlier this year, something happened between him and Tony. They wouldn't tell me what, and we haven't seen him since."

"I can check it out later, right now I'm gonna go register at the Motor Lodge."

Jessica shook her head, "You can stay here in Alexander's room."

"Alright," he said after a long moment of looking at her, "I'm gonna get my stuff." He turned to the door and headed to his truck for his duffel bag.

... Haven ...

"So, do you think Giles will be able to find his friend?" Cordy asked Xander as they rested together on the couch.

"Well, he has a chance. And being that Zackey Boy's with him, a threat will be assessed before it even has a chance to affect them." Xander sighed in contentment as he slouched down and rested his head on her shoulder. The wound was now itching like crazy, so he knew it was getting better, healing.

"Do you think it was a good idea to let him go with Giles?" Cordelia asked with a frown.

"Well, if when they come back and haven't killed one another, we'll know our answer."

"What are we gonna tell him about Anyanka?" Xander asked her with a frown of his own.

Cordy shrugged, "The truth, he'll have to know the pros and cons about being able to send him back."

"You know," Cordelia said as she rested her head on his dark hair, "things could have gone worse."

Xander's eyes closed in contentedness, "Yeah, but I'm hoping that Zack learns something from the old guy."

His cell phone interrupted the quiet cocoon and instead of answering it, as he noticed that it was from his mother, he ignored the wring and let the voice mail answer.

... Hello, its me, I'm not at home, if you'd like to reach me, leave me alone ...

Calling the young man from Jessica's phone, the dark haired man heard the voice mail, *This is Xander Harris. If this is an emergency, leave a message. If you're a Scooby, page me and I'll get back to ya.*

"Alexander, this is your father, John, please call me when you get a chance. The number is 866-907-3235. I'd like to meet you."

Author's Note: Disclaimer: The number 866-907-3235 was used in the first season of Supernatural by Dean Winchester.


	27. Epilogue

Epilogue

…Cold Comfort…

Xander and Cordelia had called all of their friends and asked them to come to the Library. Some people had asked if there were going to be snacks or if snacks were needed. Of course, snacks were always welcome.

The first to arrive had been Oz, Willow and Johnathon; the three friends lived close enough together that the young werewolf was easily able to pick up the other two.

Next to arrive, had been Faith. She was staying with Amy while she was in the hospital and, at the moment, was the closer of the two Slayers in relation to the school Library.

Finally, Buffy arrived. Her mother had baked brownies so she entered bearing yummy gifts.

Everyone sat around the table munching quietly as they watched Xander rise from his chair.

Xander paced around the room as he bit his thumbnail in deep thought.

"Blood," Oz said from where he sat.

Everything stopped as all eyes turned to the lycanthrope.

"I smell blood," he elaborated.

Cordelia hopped up from her seat and moved to the black haired transgenic's side. She shifted his loose fitting shirt to check the wound. Blood was seeping through the bandage.

"Sit down," she commanded, "That's non negotiable."

The young man sighed as he turned a chair around so the back was facing the table and straddled it to face the others.

Queen C went into Giles' office and grabbed the small first aid kit from there and brought it to the table. Removing the bloody gauze and throwing it in the trash, she checked to make sure he had not popped the stitches as he was moving around. Luckily he did not. Opening the kit she pulled out some prepackaged gauze pads and changed the dressing on Xander's back. She used a triple biotic antiseptic ointment that was not Neosporin, due to the fact that they were allergic to that one.

"Okay, so what's going on?" Buffy asked after they had taken care of that.

"Houston, we have a problem," Xander gave a half hearted smirk.

Cordelia elbowed him gently in the side after she sat down next to him. "And don't forget my problem," she reminded him.

Sighing heavily, Xander put an elbow on the table and put his head in his hand. For a long moment, he just sat there.

"Well?" Faith snapped impatiently.

Xander lifted his head and looked at everyone. He rubbed his barcode and hedged a little more before he began, "Something's up with Giles."

Buffy and Willow stood, frowns and creases of worry firmly in place on both of their faces.

Faith frowned also but she was able to control her feelings better.

Johnathon slumped forward and rested his chin on the table as he looked at Xander, silently mulling over the implications.

Oz remained calm and collected. Or was he, in fact, upset on the inside?

"Cordelia found something interested in this research project I'm working on for Giles. We went to see him so that we could confirm her findings. He was in the process of packing when we got to his house earlier this morning…" the dark haired young man began and proceeded to explain the events of the recent past.

Finally, he put his forehead into his hand one more time and seemed to fall asleep.

Cordy nudged him and murmured something only he was able to hear.

He sat up slightly and looked at everyone, "We need to get working on this before G-man and Brother Zack get back," the black haired young man said as he folded his arms across his chest.

"So Giles just up and left? Where's he going?" Buffy said with heat.

He looked at the blonde with tired, old eyes as he said, "Don't know. His friend has gone missing, so I guess they'll be back whenever, if ever they find his friend."

…Wander This World…

"So why are we going to Cleveland?" Zack asked the older man as the highway streaked past the windows of the little car.

Giles glanced at the young man. "My friend Daniel has been missing since the 80's, another one of my friends wants to look for him. I think he should not look alone."

"Is he like you? Or is he an ordinary?" the X5 inquired as he shifted in the passenger seat.

"He certainly is like me," the older seeming man smirked as they passed the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign.

"Do you normally leave 'your kids' to fend for themselves?"

"Not normally, no," Giles said with a frown. "But they have Joyce to look after them; and Adam should be back soon from Paris. Plus, they are more than capable of taking care of themselves. If you didn't feel that way, you should have stayed with the children."

"No, if I would have done that, Max would have nagged me until I finally left to track you down," Zack said with a sardonic smirk.

Giles scoffed, "Yes, I'll agree that she's tenacious."

"I think they're right though," Zack said quietly, "I should see a little bit of the world to compare it to post pulse America."

"You don't believe them." It was more of a statement than a question.

"I don't know what I believe anymore," Zack said with a frown.

"I truly hope you find what you're looking for, Zack." Giles said as he looked at the young man out of the corner of his eye.


End file.
